Cordy: Kind of rude coming into a vampire’s place of business with one of those things, don’t you think? Could be misinterpreted?
Wesley puts down his bag and pulls out a newspaper clipping: You recall earlier this morning that mix-up with the dentist's mail and newspaper? (Shows her the clipping) That’s when I saw this.
Cordy looks at it: Oh, my God! You cut up Dr. Folger’s newspaper? You’re going to get us kicked out of this building.
Another unconscious person on public transit. This guy just seemed to be terribly tired, but when he slumped over, he knocked his stuff on the floor. Several times. I kept putting his stuff back, and mentioned him to the drive on my way out.
Fandom: The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System Pairings/Characters: Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu Rating: Explicit Length: 18,992 Creator Links:benwisehart Theme: Amnesty, Book Fandoms, Domestic, Established Relationship, Humor, Trauma & Recovery
Summary: The System gives Shen Qingqiu the ability to exchange B-Points for items, and what better way to earn points than by raising the satisfaction level of Zhongdian's favourite protagonist?
OR: The one where Shen Qingqiu starts seducing the fuck out of Binghe in order to enable his caffeine addiction.
Reccer's Notes: This one seems like it'd be just a fun kinky romp (which it also is!), but it's also very thoughtful about why Shen Qingqiu was reluctant to indulge in some of these things to begin with. Sometimes it's just his self-conscious personality, and sometimes it's because he was too quick to judge, but he's also his own person with his own preferences and traumas and those deserve to be respected, too! Really, the ultimate benefit out of this whole sequence of events might just have been allowing these two a sliver of genuine open communication, even if that's sometimes a hard-won lesson.
Brahma's Dreamby Shree Ghatage was a book I snatched out of a pile of stuff my sister was giving away last year, but she'd never gotten around to reading it herself, so she couldn't give me a preview. Brahma's Dream is set in India just before it gains self-rule, and concerns the family of Mohini, a child whose serious illness dominates her life.
This is one of those middle-of-the-road books that was neither amazingly good nor offensively bad, and therefore I struggle to come up with much to say about it. That makes it sound bad, but it isn't--I enjoyed my time with it. I thought Ghatage did a good job with exploring life on the precipice of great political change, although the history and politics of 1940s India is more backdrop to the family drama than central to the story. I liked Mohini and her family; because the nature of her illness necessitates a lot of rest and down time, Mohini is naturally a thoughtful child, as her thoughts are sometimes all she has to amuse herself. However, she never crosses the line into being precocious, which was a relief.
Neither did I feel like the book leaned too hard on Mohini's illness to elicit sentimentality from the reader. Obviously, an illness like hers is the biggest influence on her life, and on the lives of her immediate family, and there are many moments you sympathize with her because she can't just be a child the way she wants to be, but I didn't feel like Ghatage was plucking heartstrings just for the sake of it.
Reading the relationships between Mohini and her family was heartwarming, especially with her grandfather, who takes great joy in Mohini's intellect and is often there to discuss the import of various societal events with her.
Ghatage's descriptive writing really brings to life the India of the time, with the colors, smells, sounds, and sights that are a part of Mohini's every day.
It reminded me of another book I read about a significant event in Indian history (the separation of India and Pakistan) told through the perspective of a young ill girl, Cracking India.
On the whole, this was a sweet, heartfelt book. It's not heavy on plot, but if you enjoy watching the story of a family unfold and the little dramas that play out, it's enjoyable.
I will begin this piece noting that I am not unbiased in my thoughts about Moana, as my friend, the Oscar-nominated writer Pamela Ribon, helped write a significant chunk of this film’s story. I found out about her involvement after the fact, namely, by sitting there in the theater watching the credits when the movie was done, spying her name, and saying “Oh, shit! Pamie!” out loud, thereby confusing the friend I went to see the film with. How much Pamela’s involvement in this film raises my estimation of it is difficult for me to quantify, but I can assure you I liked it very much before I knew she was involved with it. So, there, you have my disclosure.
And in fact, I do like Moana very much. It’s my favorite film out of Disney Animated Studios in the last decade, and even (barely) edges out Coco when you include Pixar in the mix (Coco is wonderful, though, you should absolutely see it if you have not). Moana does many things well, both technically and in the story department, but what I like most about it is that, without making an overt fuss about it, it’s the most feminist and woman-forward animated film that Disney Animation has made.
Disney, mind you, has been mining the “girl power” vein for a while, most overtly since the Disney Renaissance era that began with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. The Disney canon is so replete with these characters that they’re even their own marketing category within Disney itself: The Disney Princesses. The problem with the Disney Princesses, however, is one clear enough that Disney itself parodized it in a scene from Wreck It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet (written — again! — by Pamela Ribon):
Moana is in this scene, but of all the “princesses” in here (not excepting Venelope!) she is the one whose journey’s intersection with men (and more broadly, with patriarchy) is of a different quality. Men exist in and are even essential to her path through the story, but at every juncture of the story, she is the captain of her own fate. She is continually self-motivating, self-rescuing, and ultimately, the instrument of the story’s resolution in a way that does not depend on a man (it may depend on an ocean, which is never gendered, but let’s not get into that now).
I don’t think Moana, either the film or character, overtly makes a big deal out of any of this — there’s no point where Moana has a story-stopping “girl power” moment, and the only person who explicitly calls out her princess-ness is a dude who does it as a winking fourth-wall crack, and the fact is never really brought up again. Moana’s not rubbing your face in its feminist bona fides. It’s not to say they aren’t there.
In any event, at no point is Moana’s womanhood presented as a disadvantage. She is early on explicitly tapped to be the next leader of the only village on a Polynesian island of no specific provenance (the voice cast of the film is primarily Polynesian, but from varying places in the Pacific: Hawai’i, Samoa, and New Zealand/Aotearoa most prominently). This ascent to leadership is something that Moana accepts with some reluctance, for while her people have lived contentedly on the island for centuries, their antecedents once roamed the waves in big boats, and Moana sees her destiny out there. This fact is a subject of some exasperation to her father, who wants her to focus on where she is.
The issue gets forced when a blight hits the island, killing both the fish and the coconut palms the villagers rely on. This blight, Moana is told by her grandmother, is the result of the trickster demigod Maui stealing the (literal, not figurative) heart of the goddess Te Fiti, inadvertently starting the blight as well as being the cause of the pause in sailing between islands. The good news is, as a baby Moana was chosen by the ocean! For what? Well, as it happens, to leave the island, find Maui, and force him to return the heart of Te Fiti. Simple enough, yes? Well. No.
It does not pass my attention that in this film the initiating problem, and the various obstacles that Moana encounters, originate with men, and the aid and advice she gets is at the hand of the women characters (there is the volcano demon Te Kā, who is coded as a woman, but hold that thought). Again, the film doesn’t dwell on any of this — and both Maui and Moana’s dad have understandable and defensible reasons for what they do — but it’s there. Men in this film, in ways large and small, exist to be routed around and made to understand that they are supporting, not main, characters in this tale.
No one exemplifies this more than Maui, played by Dwayne Johnson in a frankly delightful bit of typecasting. If ever a movie star exuded “main character energy,” it’s Johnson. That same sort of heedless self-regard oozes through Maui, who despite being in exile for a thousand years, settles back into his own internal spotlight the second someone else gazes upon him. That Moana is having none of his guff is neither here nor there to him; she whacks him with an oar with seconds of meeting him and he reacts with mild puzzlement rather than comprehension. His signature song, “You’re Welcome,” is a literal paean to how awesome he is, and it’s perfect that Johnson’s singing voice is, how to put it, deeply imperfect. Maui wouldn’t care if he was off-key. Being on key is for people who aren’t demigods.
But the fact is, this isn’t Maui’s story, it’s Moana’s, and Maui’s journey will be to learn that being of service — the thing he’s always prided himself on — is not about filling the hole in one’s psyche.
Moana’s journey is also one of service — she wants to save her island and her people. She doesn’t know if she can do it, and there are times when she is sure that she can’t, but she is determined to anyway, and besides there is no one else who can do it. She’s learning on the job, so to speak, and what I like about her his that her doubts and fears and acknowledgements of her own deficiencies are right there in her story… and she keeps on regardless, and will do it all by herself if she has to. What saves her, and by extension saves everybody, is her ability to see, not where she has a chance to be a hero, but where she has a chance to heal what has been broken. It’s her story but it’s never been about her, or, rather, just about her.
This is a fairly subtle peace of storytelling — a story where the “big bad” isn’t defeated, or even redeemed, but is restored, from a harm perpetrated long ago. And the hero’s reward? Not riches or fame, or true love’s kiss, or a man in any shape or form. She just gets to go home, with the knowledge there is a home to go back to. This is a hero’s journey, to be sure. But it’s a different hero’s journey than we usually get, and one that I don’t think we often get to see when when the hero is a man. This is what Moana does, that the other “princess” movies up to that point didn’t really manage to do.
(Mulan comes close. But, Shang.)
I think it’s important that, while the film was directed and largely written by people who were not Polynesian, the filmmakers actively consulted and collaborated with Polynesians and Pacific Islanders about the movie, and listened about a number of things, like Maui’s appearance and why Moana wouldn’t be disrespectful regarding coconuts. Likewise, while Lin-Manuel Miranda is the marquee name for the movie’s songwriting, he collaborated with Opetaia Foaʻi, a Tokelauan-Tuvaluan composer and songwriter. I’m not qualified to say that the filmmakers got Polynesia “right” — please listen to others with better knowledge on that score — but at the very least it is good that there was an acknowledgement they were telling a story in a milieu that people currently exist in, and to which they owed respect.
I have not seen Moana’s animated sequel, which came out in 2024 and shoved lots of cash into Disney’s coffers, and bluntly, other than the obvious “for even more money,” I am confused why Disney thinks it’s a good idea to do a “live action” version of the story a mere decade after the animated movie hit theaters (actually, I do have a theory about this — the “live action” remakes of the animated movies serve the same function as re-releasing the classic Disney animated films did before the age of home video: bonding another generation of children to Disney’s character and stories, the better to keep them in the economic chain that continues on to Disney’s theme parks and cruises. Even so). I don’t imagine I will be going out my way to see the “live action” version anytime soon.
But that doesn’t decrease my appreciation for Moana, the original film. Disney doesn’t need me to tell them they got this one right. But they did. Of all the “Disney Princess” movies, this one, in theme and story, is the true queen.
You may know Joyce Hindman as LionHeart Distribution or as Requiem Publications, publisher and seller of zines and as Bast Ravenshadow's publishing partner, or you may know her for her four tables at Media West, or as the artist with the little boxes and jewelry and other fun beaded stuff in the Media West art show, or as the fic writer Sekhmet.
She is now a senior citizen (over 70), and on social security after years on disability, along with her husband who is also a senior with health problems.
This has been a particularly tough year as far as health problems and medical expenses. Her husband was hospitalized with pneumonia. She needed rotator cuff repair on her dominant arm and additionally shortly thereafter broke the humerous bone near her shoulder on the same side.
She and her husband are now trying to cope with many medical bills for surgeries and physical therapy at a cost of thousands of dollars. With fixed incomes, and looking at increases in insurance premiums, food costs, et cetera, and with her husband's part-time job offering no work for two months now, they are very uncertain about how to pay these bills.
If you can donate anything to the Hindman GoFundMe, please do so at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-joyce-overcome-medical-expenses . If you would rather donate privately as I did and you have PayPal, you can PayPal Joyce at jersey dot lion at gmail dot com.
Fandom: Lord of the Rings; How the Grinch Stole Christmas Pairings/Characters: Gen; Sauron, the Mouth of Sauron, Pippin, Sam Gamgee, the Hobbit community Rating: General Audiences Length: (Fic) 957 words; (Comic) 30 panels Content Notes: No Archive Warnings Apply Creator Tags: Erisif | Valarhalla: #i could have done something useful today #instead i wrote this #i hate myself english-history-trip: #lotr #nonsense #well that was my day how was yours #why is sauron in a cave and then a tower #go to hell that's why #why is frodo bartholomew cubbins instead of a who #the answer won't surprise you
Summary:Every being in Eä liked peacetime a lot… But Sauron, who was also in Eä, did NOT.
Reccer's Notes: Elisif’s retelling of The War of the Ring in Seussian rhyming verse, firmly informed by The Lore, maps the Shire onto Whoville without introducing an anachronistic Christmas (that’s for Narnia.)
And then, in proper cumulative Tumbloric fashion, english-history-trip proceeds to remix Seussian illustrations to match. (Spoiler: Sauron does not experience redemptive cardiac enlargement; another character gets to preside over the grand climactic celebration.)
+ An acquaintance loaned me a fountain pen so I could try it out. I was interested but a little hesitant, because my experience with Fancypants Pens up to this point hasn't been great (though admittedly previous experience was limited to glass dip pens. And also calligraphy pens in elementary school art class). This one's quite nice, though. It's a Pilot Metropolitan and I might end up getting one for myself. Though, will need more practice - my writing is even uglier and more illegible with this thing than it was with the cheap-ass Bic rollerballs I use most of the time. If I get one of my own, it'll probably be something I use for both writing and drawing. Maybe. Probably not for fic though.
+ I will confess though, part of my interest in fountain pens (aside from this acquaintance's enthusiasm about them, which is kind of cute) is the wide variety of fancy inks out there. So pretty! So stylish! You can even get shimmery purple ones! Amazing.
+ It was absolutely miserable out yesterday. I took a look at the weather in the morning and it was -38C after windchill. Eew. A lot of events in town were cancelled because it was so cold - though that isn't just us, apparently several other cities had to cancel their Santa Claus parades and whatnot as well. Looks like we'll be dealing with this for a while. The transit stop that I use after work doesn't have a bus shelter any more, so it's going to be a very cold week.
+ The faucet on my sink has a crack in it and is going to need to be replaced. This is a terrible time for it, partly because this time of year is busy in general and also because I will not be able to take any time off work until mid-January because my coworker is leaving very soon for a month (there are only two of us in my department), so if I have to get somebody in to change it out it could be an issue. A cursory search tells me that this kind of thing can theoretically be handled as a DIY; my father is coming over this afternoon to take a look at it. Hopefully he can fix it (or maybe he knows a guy who can). Aughhh.
+ Wood Buffalo Pride is hosting another letter-writing session later this week in response to the UCP's Bill 9. I'm 50/50 on whether I'll go. I already wrote to Danielle Smith and my MLA, and I doubt a second letter to either of them would have an effect. But I've been kind of considering writing to other MLAs, not from my area, who have been objecting to Bill 9, thanking them for that and encouraging them to continue. I'm thinking mainly of Janis Irwin, who has been very outspoken against it and has been getting so much shit in response (though she tends to piss off conservatives on the regular no matter what, on account of being 1. an NDP representative 2. a member of the LGBT community 3. a woman who speaks her mind, is articulate, and doesn't look like a Barbie doll). I dunno, we'll see - depends on whether I feel like hauling ass to go out again immediately after coming home from work, I guess.
Light, fluffy, and extremely versatile, there’s nothing quite like a fresh popover straight from the oven. They rise beautifully with minimal effort, creating a crisp exterior and a soft, airy center that feels almost magical. Even better, they’re surprisingly simple to make—no special equipment required, just a hot oven and a basic batter. I love baking up a batch on Saturday mornings so I can enjoy them throughout the weekend, whether I’m pairing them with breakfast, serving them alongside a cozy dinner, or snacking on one warm with butter and jam.
Easy popovers Recipe
Nothing compares to popovers straight from the oven. They are light, airy little clouds with a crisp exterior and a soft, tender interior, a bit like Yorkshire pudding. This recipe is simple and delicious, and the best part is that it bakes perfectly in a standard muffin tin with no special pan required.
I love making these on weekend mornings when I want something easy to prepare but a little special and different. I find popovers are also incredibly versatile. I’ll eat them for breakfast, as a savory snack with cheese, herbs, or ham, or alongside a roast or hearty stew for dinner. I can even turn them into dessert! So, grab a muffin tin, preheat your oven, and try these at home. Once you taste that first warm bite, you will see why I think popovers are so delightful.
Recipe Success Tips
Preheat the muffin tin. Warming the tin before adding the batter gives the popovers a head start. It’s a simple step, but it makes a big difference in the final rise and texture.
Grease thoroughly. Coat all sides of each muffin cup with nonstick spray to ensure easy release.
Keep the oven door closed. The steam trapped inside the oven is essential for rising, so resist the urge to peek!
Serve immediately. Popovers deflate quickly as they cool, so enjoy them hot from the oven for the best texture.
Light, fluffy, and extremely versatile, there's nothing quite like a fresh popover straight from the oven. I like to bake up a batch and eat them for breakfast, as a savory snack, or alongside a soup or stew for dinner.
Gather all the ingredients and preheat the oven to 450°F.
In a large bowl whisk together eggs, milk, and salt until smooth.
Gradually add the flour, whisking until the batter is lump-free. Let it rest at room temperature for 5–10 minutes. Meanwhile, place a muffin tin into the preheated oven for 3 minutes to heat up.
Remove the hot muffin tin from the oven and spray each cup thoroughly with nonstick cooking spray. Carefully fill each cup about ¾ full with batter.
Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes. Do not open the oven during this time, the steam is what makes the popovers rise. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for another 15–18 minutes, or until the popovers are golden, puffed, and set.
Serve immediately while warm to prevent them from collapsing. Top with butter, honey, or jam if desired.
Gather all ingredients and preheat the oven to 450°F.
Combine the eggs and milk: In a large bowl, whisk together 4 eggs, 2 cups of milk, and ½ tsp salt until smooth.
Add the flour: Gradually add 2 cups of flour, whisking until the batter doesn’t have any lumps. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 5–10 minutes. Meanwhile, place a muffin tin into the preheated oven for 3 minutes to heat up.
Fill the muffin tin: Remove the hot muffin tin from the oven and generously spray each cup thoroughly with nonstick cooking spray. Carefully fill each of the muffin cups about ¾ full with batter.
Bake: Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes. Do not open the oven during this time; the steam is what makes the popovers rise. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for another 15–18 minutes, or until the popovers are golden, puffed, and set.
Serve: Serve immediately while warm to prevent them from collapsing. Top with butter, honey, or jam if desired.
recipe Variations
Keep in mind that popovers puff best without extra fillings in the oven. For sweet or savory additions, lightly fold them in or add toppings after baking for best results. Some of my favorites include:
Cheese popovers: Stir in ½ cup grated sharp cheddar, Parmesan, or Gruyère for a rich, cheesy flavor.
Super savory popover: Add 1–2 tsp of fresh herbs like chives, thyme, or rosemary to the batter for a fragrant note. Or, fold in small cooked bacon or ham pieces for a hearty breakfast popover.
Dessert popover: Sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar over the batter before baking, or dust the baked popovers for a sweet touch. You can also add 1 tsp of vanilla extract or a teaspoon of orange or lemon zest to the batter for a bright, dessert-like flavor.
Fruit popover: Spoon a small amount of jam, berries, or chopped apples into the center before baking for a surprise sweet popover.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many ways I love to enjoy these popovers. I can literally eat them with every meal! For breakfast, I split them in half and slather them with butter, jam, or a spoonful of honey. For a little more substance, I’ll add cheese, ham, or scrambled eggs for a mini breakfast sandwich.
For dinner, I like to use the popovers to soak up all the goodness left in my bowl from soup like this cozy split pea soup, or a hearty Brunswick stew. I’ll even turn the popovers into a sweet treat by dusting with powdered sugar, drizzling with maple syrup, or caramel sauce.
how to store leftovers
Popovers are best enjoyed fresh, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, so eat them quickly.
For longer storage, let them cool completely, then freeze in a zip-top bag for up to 1 month. Reheat in a 350°F oven for 5–7 minutes to bring back some of that puff and crispness.
I grew up on old-school Doctor Who, back when it aired on PBS Friday nights. My first convention ever was a Doctor Who event - where John Pertwee patted my head - and just a few years ago I received a side-hug from my favorite Doctor, Peter Davison. [Still squeeing over that, btw.] So yeah, you could say the good Doctor and I go back a ways.
So today I thought we'd celebrate all things timey-wimey with the ultimate Best-Of cake mix sure to make your knees wibbly-wobbly. Ready? Allons-y!
Much as I adore Tigger, I'm kinda bummed I can't make a "Doctor POOH" joke here. But that's ok; Piglet in a homemade Dalek costume MORE than makes up for it.
Sometimes you see a fan-built K-9 rolling around at conventions, and I so want one.
Even though I grew up on the show, I'm ashamed to admit I have a LOT of catching up to do with the new episodes. (Too many were making me cry!) I will catch up, though - I WILL.
Anyway, if you're in the same boat - or if you've never seen ANY episodes and just want to know what all the fuss is about, then at least watch the episode "Blink." It's quite possibly the best episode of any sci-fi show EVER, and stands alone just fine.
Plus, after you watch that, you'll know why everyone else is about to flinch away from their screens in terror:
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su_herald at 03:33pm on 07/12/2025
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