cornerofmadness

How to know I'm too tired

2026-06-03T03:58:37Z

I was planning to go put in my travel expenses but I'm not getting my rental car paperwork until Thursday. I was too tired to think about that last night when I made a decision.

So I did laundry, got some groceries and somehow the whole day was gone.

Did call Capitol One, I was at my limit (Forgot all about being in Louisville two weeks ago and running up a big bill) Paid it all off because they don't deserve any interest after trying to tell me my limit wasn't lowered ever.

Here's my fannish 50 stuff

As a reminder I'm using Buffy the Vampire Slayer for this set of questions

Day 5: Favourite male character - This was harder than it should be. I guess push comes to shove it's still Rupert Giles. I know, I know, why not Spike or Angel. Here's the thing I like all three men almost equally and they all failed me in the course of this show. I think what I liked about Giles was smart didn't mean he was useless in battle like so many other places. His various choices weren't my favorite but over all I really liked him. I very much like Angel too and of course Spike but season 6-7 took care of that.

( all questions under here )

and some fandom recs because I was too tired to do it on Friday. Still exhausted so I'll finish this all up on Friday

I Miss You Hazbin Hotel

Kaleidoscope Hazbin Hotel

Lost And Forgotten Torchwood.

One Step at a Time Stargate Atlantis

The Baby Hazbin Hotel

Settling Into the Future Teen Wolf

Dealing with Frustration 911

If I Should Die Torchwood

Rescue Mission Stargate Atlantis

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Made it home

2026-06-02T03:02:40Z

Evil Little Dog and I had a leisurely morning and then I took off. over 100 miles on I-64 and not a single rest stop. Not. One. Had to stop at a Pilot truck stop. Finally north of Louisville KY there was a rest stop. It was closed.

I got off the road to find food twice only to see no restaurant anywhere. Dudes if your restaurant is more than a mile off the highway DONT be on the highway sign. Finally found a rest stop just outside of Florence KY (Meaning I'm nearly in Cincinnati) and in there was a mom trying to get her daughter to take a picture talking on the pay phone. Yes you read that right, there was a living pay phone.

Finally found food in a freaking sit down Skyline chili (it's now like 330) and then I realized I'm literally 20 miles from Jungle Jim's in Cinci. I was going to stop there but I was already not getting home until 730 and I'm like are you really up to shopping (I just wanted the cheese) If I had realized I was almost there, I would have skipped Skyline and stopped there to eat.

On the negative side, I realized that my eyes were tired so I shut my left eye and things went bad. The right eye, the one that has been inflamed twice...I could barely see through it. Couldn't see the cars in front of me, not the road signs or the billboards. I mean I could see them but they were unreadable, like everything was smeared with vaseline. I thought it has gotten a little better and the eye doc said he saw nothing wrong but this was worse than I realized and when I was on 32 which has relatively few cars, I played with it more just to prove to myself this was real. Sadly it was. I have another eye doc appointment on friday. If he STILL says there is nothing wrong with my eye when it is demonstrably worse (and frankly it was when we did the eye test) I'm going to find an eye specialist because I'm not fucking around with my sight. Did that inflammation damage my cornea? Has the cataract gotten bigger? Because there is no way being unable to see anything but blurry shapes with one eye is normal. And I'm honestly scared about it.

Also my card got declined at breakfast. I figured it finally had enough. But I got a text later in the day saying I'm at my limit. I thought I had a 10K limit on this card. I'm hoping to hell they lowered the limit and didn't tell me because there is no way I spent 10K in a week.

Rocket is fine. Being here has sent my anxiety up and I hate that. There are things I need to fix because I can't have my home be a place of anxiety.

It's music monday 30 weeks of music. This week's prompt is #28 A song that makes you feel empowered

( meh, I don't really get that kind of thing from songs )

here's the whole prompt list

( All under here )

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I regret everything about today

2026-06-01T03:24:10Z

It stormed all night and I was afraid it was going to storm the whole way home. I ran down and got the egg/bacon breakfast burrito. The flour tortilla was welded to the paper but the worst of it was it was 90% potato and I don't like potato. But later I found the breakfast buffet that we saw on line but it was only on Sunday so that's why I didn't know about it and it didn't start until 9 after I already choked down that burrito. By the time I left the rain had stopped.

And off the jump the GPS says 9 north's exit is closed. Yeah, no shit, we've been going around it for the last 3 days but you never noticed it was closed then. God I regret NOT going to Union Station because from downtown to 70 E is a short trip. So my GPS tries to go around the closed road or so I think. I figured we were looping around downtown since we don't need to go there.

I couldn't have been MORE wrong. The detour added THREE hours to my 6 hour trip. I was getting ready to pull over and put the address back in for evil little dog's place only to finally see 70 East was my next turn nearly 70 miles away. so it took me nearly 200 miles out of my way. I have no idea why. It's set for either fastest route or shortest but this was neither. It took me 9 hours to get to ELD's place

So I'm too tired for a writerly ways so you get some links

Open Call

Exquisite Undead vampires

10 EXTRA Writing Calls and Opportunities for JUNE

the reckoning ecojustice

FUN IN THE DARK small town weirdness

The Book of Demons Demons, daemons, evil spirits, supernatural entities, possession, trauma, addiction, folklore, and infernal mythology

Tractor Beam: The Water Issue Water, ecosystems, agriculture, migration, drought, island ecologies, and anti-apocalyptic futures

Baneberry – A Literary Horror Annual Literary horror and psychologically rich dark fiction

Baffling Magazine June 2026 Window “Gossip” theme plus open/unthemed speculative submissions

Sley House Patreon June 2026 Window Ecopunk

58 Literary Journals that Pay their Authors

From Around the Web

The Author Who Cannot Write (About Themselves)

How Could You Do This to Me? When Characters Betray Other Characters.

Writing Away From Yourself: How to Fictionalize a Character

The Elements of Horror: Building Suspense and Tension in Your Writing

Notes from the Editor’s Desk: May 2026

Writing Stakes Without Raising the Volume

I believe Betty is traveling this weekend too so no links from here.

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Spent the morning in Prohibition

2026-05-31T04:13:32Z

This was the first morning here that I was awoken by noise, thunder I think at 6 AM and I did fall back to sleep only to wake up an hour later when it sounded like a drawer slammed in my room. It didn't of course and I'm at the end of the hall so not sure where it came from.

Even waking up early I was late getting out of here in the pouring rain which wasn't fun especially since there was no time for breakfast. Worse I forgot my list of addresses in the hotel but luckily GPS can also find things by name. I did get to Union Station in time and they had the same coffee shop chain as here so I did get breakfast after all.

The Gangster Tour wasn't as expected. In spite of all my worry I was the first person on the bus. The driver and the tour guide were both in 1920s period dress (okay for men that's just a suit (pinstripe) and fedoras. It was a mix of the guide's patter/info dumps and a tv screen with a news reporter, Johnny Holiday's (our guide) brother or his girlfriend so it looked interactive. Really nice info about John Lazia and Tom Pendergast the underworld crime boss and the political boss respectfully. Pendergast apparently never found a thing he couldn't turn into graft (like literally everything his cement business was involved in) and yet oddly he was also a friend of Harry Truman even after his corruption (Pendergast's) was exposed. Learned a ton about various buildings (including places Al Capone partied and where Pretty Boy Floyd was in theory involved in a massacre outside the Union Station. It was almost a 2 hour tour so worth the money.

After lunch in the Union I headed to the Steamboat Arabia museum (which is closing down at the end of the year) but it is in some artist market district with nothing but food traffic and zero parking other than on street which was never going to happen. After circling around for several minute (and thinking I could try tomorrow morning) I gave up and said fine, WWI memorial museum it is...right back at Union Station but up the hill.

SO...every road to the parking garage was closed. After circling it three times I gave up and since it was still raining off and on I decided no zoo. I went back to the Nelson Atkins art museum. I could have gone to the Kemper Modern art museum but I think it was 20$ and I am not a huge art fan.

Revisiting the other museum is good call. Found a whole wing I missed the first time. Found my hotel mate there too. I rode up in the elevator yesterday with a lady who liked my Huskerdust shirt. Found her again at the Red Lotus Asian restaurant (in the casino) and found her again at the museum. Told mom watch me see her again tonight.

And I go to the sports bar at the casino and who's there, my hotel mate sitting with an African American woman at the 6 seater table, the only thing open in the place. She said sit with us. She's Marta (Mexican American from CA) and Melinda is her table mate, retired today. They were also happy to see me because the two trainee waitresses kept ignoring them but responded to me. On our way out, Marta said she wondered if there was a racial component in addition to the two waitresses being new to the job and bad at it and got better when I showed up. Yeah...probably

Slot machines gobbled my money and I came back and after fighting for days to get my room to cool off, now it finally is (and almost too cold) and looking outside the street lights look like shower heads its raining so hard. Figures because I'm driving towards home tomorrow. And ooooo that was big lightning. Gonna be a fun night

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Fishies!

2026-05-30T04:54:09Z

So I went to Sea Life Aquarium which turns out to be IN Crown Center, down the block from the Sheraton and I could have always snuck off to see this. Snort. It's geared more to kids and is side by side with Legoland (which does not allow adults without kids in it) it was a nice (if a bit pricy) aquarium. It had sea dragons and jellyfish so I was happy (and bought an axolatol plushie I didn't need)

And it turned out this place is there with the Hallmark visitor center museum thing so why not, right? I had no idea that JC Hall started this with gathering up pre-done postcards and sending them to retailers and hoped to get paid (it's practically a scam) And did you know his first greeting card with sound was in 1924? I sure didn't. Didn't know it wasn't called Hallmark until 1954 either (it was Hall Brothers before then) Loved the display of Christmas trees. Mom loves ornaments so I wasn't leaving here without one. All the gift shop had was baby's first Xmas, first Xmas in our new home and a creepy baby's first xmas sonogram) maybe because of mother's day. So I went into the big three story mall complex to the big hallmark and they only had the same one with a couple of birds and butterflies. Got one of a peep in a egg, dumb, tiny but I have it.

From there I went to the Museum of Kansas City. It was a private residence Corinthian Hall, but only used from 1910 to 1934 and became a museum in 1940 (seems rather a waste) The ground level was preserved as it was when the Long family lived there (hope to get the pics up in the next few days) They allow no photo shoots but I could take pics with my cell phone no flash.

Me - can I use my better camera with no flash?
Them - no, just your cell phone camera
Me - um...okay, why? they're both cameras
Them - we don't allow camera cameras

I let it go because what's the point in arguing with stupid? The upstairs was modern art (including from the Native people and African American communities) One was a recorded (I think, maybe entirely AI) talk with a former Polish Jewish woman who was in one of the camps and you could ask 'her' interactive questions and the AI would find the bits to play in the prerecording (or make shit up, who knows)

It was now after 3 so I'm like yeah, not trying for another museum for less than 2 hours. I went back to Elmwood cemetery now that I have a map in my head of where Leannah Loveall (prostitute turned Madame turned religious pillar) and I found her instantly. Must have driven past her 5 times the first time I was there.

I went to historic Union Cemetery (which has well put together historic literature for you to go on a scavenger hunt with), not a lot of impressive stones but it was super inner city now and reminded me of my college dorm, with the headstones right up to the apartments (You could have slapped a headstone from my dorm room window). One had this pool side full of hammocks and loungers with a view of the cemetery. You know there's a story in that.

Came back to the casino, played Voodoo Jackpots and accidentally dragged my finger over the touchscreen, jumping my .66 cent wager to 6.60$ without me knowing it until I hit bet. And hit a free spin bonus and won 225$. I wanted to stay for more but I did the hard thing and walked away without trying to hit another one and losing it all.

here's my intoabar rough draft Hazbin Hotel/The Amazing Digital Circus. It's not ready yet to post there but I also wrote it for spikesgirl58's 6 word challenge and that's due tonight. I'll edit it and post it once I get home. Also too tired to do the fannish 50 fandom recs. I'll do that on Tuesday

the six words were Pneumonia Achieve Company Smooth Ensure Gallery

( story draft under here )

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Jam packed day

2026-05-29T03:42:16Z

Seems like this post needs Husk as I'm now at the casino/hotel (and have already had cocktails and lost money)

So I got to sleep in some today because nothing opens before 10 AM. I checked out of the Sheraton and rolled out for Independence MO. Now if I knew this nearby town was so stinking cute I would have picked a third place (or at least planned to take the horse drawn carriage thing).

I went to Vaile Mansion It's a gorgeous home (that popped the dream bubble of owning an old home when I saw the 1.5 million dollar repair bill it's working on). Vaile was a lawyer/vinter whose wife (as these stories almost always go) died moving it here and he never finished the third floor billards/ballroom. It went to a lady lawyer next, his friend because his family tried to break his will giving it to a girl's college. It took so long to break the will his family was out of money and sold this house for a buck.

And SO much like Marietta's The Anchorage, they kept it up as a sanitorium for the wealthy and then a nursing home until the mid 1980s and unlike The Anchorage it didn't sit vacant long.

This place is filled with chocolate marble fireplaces, every ceiling is a painted mural. Sadly all the original furniture is gone (sold to pay that lady lawyer) but they tried to replace it as close as possible (the auction list was in the house so they knew what was there) There were tons of hair memento Mori in the house from the hair museum which I had wanted to go to but couldn't find times. Turns out even though the webpage is still there, the museum is not. The owner died in her 90s after covid and her daughter has sold off all the hair pieces. I didn't want to leave this place.

From here I went to the historic jail
. It's in that stinking cute down town and what fun was this? It's thought the limestone prison was built in the 1870s but they're learning it's probably the 1850s and the brick part is 1907. They have a little one room school house that was moved there years ago and every 1st grader in their school district goes there for a field trip to do class like they would have then. Sounds fun. The brick part of the jail is a little museum of local h istory (I need to look up what the priests of pallas was).

The jail was interesting. I was getting the cold, ghost chills standing there only to find out I was directly under where they dropped the prisoners to hang them (not a lot of hangings there mind you but still). Jesse James' brother had been imprisoned there but he was so well liked/folk hero status that they let him Al Capone that prison cell (before Al was probably even born) filling it with his personal stuff and he had it to himself. Most of the people were jammed in there 3 to a cell.

However during the Civil war, they had up to 11 women jammed in per cell. Most of my civil war travel (which is min.) has been in the north. Until I was in Louisville and now here, I didn't realize that the Confederate sympathizers had their land grabbed and they were imprisoned if they didn't leave. Tried to get my dad a book on this but the only one they had was a skull buster that even I couldn't see the print. Did get me a ghost book and some true crime book because I need books and make good choices. Also the kid running the cash register saw my Hazbin purse charms and he was very excited.

From there I went to the John Wornall Majors house but I missed the tour and didn't want to wait 40 minutes for it since I wasn't feeling it. I did walk around and read the placards. I did appreciate they were honest about the house's entrenchment in slavery (also ditto the jail which was built by slaves)

But since it was only like 230 I didn't want to go to the hotel because I couldn't go in for another 2 hours so I went to Nelson Atkins Art Museum. Turns out if you have a handicapped tag you don't have to pay the 20$ to park. Woot. So I sprung for the Alphonse Mucha exhibit which I really wanted to see (but if I had to pay for parking it would have been a 45$ ticket for it all)

The Mucha thing was SO nice but since my camera has a light (not a flash) I couldn't take much in way of pics because the docent was right up my ass. The flash is off, I swear. Wanna see?!? So I didn't get a shot of this but I'm putting it here, they had a bronze light fixture of Sarah Bernhardt's head he'd designed. To be honest I know very little about Sarah and had NO idea that she played several male roles including Hamlet.

I'm also not sure I knew just how much of Mucha's work was for calendars and ads. They had a whole room with 60s-70s rock album cover art inspired by his work (Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd) and I didn't know about the Slavic Empire set of 20 paintings he did at the end of his life that were hidden from the Gestapo because they inspired Slavic patriotism

From there I went to the main art area (the whole wing was closed where Mucha was except for that) This is the largest art museum I've been in I think. It was one little room after the other. I was so happily lost in this place. It was getting on 430 so I hit the gift shop wondering why people were still checking in when everything closes at 5. Had a gorgeous mucha umbrella and scarf (45 and 75$ respectively hard pass) and went for the car only to realize Wait it's thursday! It's open until 9 so I go back up to the second floor that I hadn't had time for. But there is art in here from Egypt to early 20th century (I assume the rest is in the Kemper modern art museum)

I head off to find the casino. I didn't realize it was SO far to the north west. I'm sure it wasn't super far (I remember google directioning all of this so I wouldn't make a bad choice) My GPS tried to murder me in a roundabout repeatedly. Americans suck at round abouts. I pulled out, no one was there (I have sensors on this car soo I know that there was no one there) and this guy comes whipping around SO far he nearly hits me and the guy in front of me while he's blowing his horn like he's not the idiot. When the GPS tried to make me go around a third time I said fuck it, I'm going straight and you find me another way there. It did and I have no idea how it didn't figure that out from the get go.

The argosy is done up like a roman street. Nice room, fancy bathroom BUT the shower is designed for wheelchairs so water runs everywhere, the rain shower head is the only one that works and so far I can't get it to be hot water. eye roll. I hit a little jackpot put it all back in and now I'm quite tired. no pictures yet. Maybe tomorrow.

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The end of the conference, the beginning of vacation

2026-05-28T04:06:40Z

Today was only a half day. We used to do two full days of workshop but not only was it a lot so many faculty had to leave half way through the last day to return to work (and some are still taking their suitcases with them on the bus today) so a few years ago we went to this.

Workshop #1 was definitely one I wanted to go to but I'm not sure if my students would go for. It's about scrapbooking your successes in class and/or using it to outline a tricky problem you think you've conquered (also I loved the study tip of quiz yourself, highlight what you know, look over the unhighlighted stuff and self quiz again). I could at least give it a shot (for credits)

Workshop #2 was all about gaming and not only that unlike all the other gaming ones he put links in to make your own game resources AND other games for sale. I'm really gonna need to check that out.

Workshop #3 canceled. AGAIN. I went to my second choice which was to build a brachial plexus from pool noodle vertebra and pipe cleaners. It was fun but I don't go into that level of detail.

It was only 1 when I got back to the hotel. I went to the American Jazz Museum . Didn't think I'd get there because the road to it was closed but I got there. And I got lucky. I'm not sure if they do this all the time or if it's all the time but they had high school bands playing the whole time I was there. Yay! The museum chose depth over breadth. It's 90% about Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker and Ella Fitzgerald. They have it done up well, lots of interactive reading things, plenty of ads and other stuff on display. I knew that KC was big in Jazz but I didn't realize it was more important (or at least AS important) as NYC and Chicago. They had a mocked up Blue Room (that does concerts almost nightly). I didn't know much about Soundies, basically music videos that you could find in the 30s=40s in nicklelodians and things that like and there was a Columbus OH lawyer John H. Baker who gave his collection to this museum. they have literal miles of footage this guy preserved and tons of archives (and i suspect no space to expand the collection)

When I left it was after 3 and since most things close up at 5 I decided now would be the time to go to Elm Wood Cemetery Neat, rather small cemetery with cool stuff. I missed Leannah Loveall's grave (a famous madam) and my phone is crap so I couldn't use find a grave or download the map. (turns out she's not on find a grave but now I've seen the map. I can always go back)

Came back saw one of my compatriots and she told me there's a freaking Hallmark museum at the end of the block. I could have come and did that. Ah well (might still try to go)

Also thought about what someone told me about the roof pool here. From my room I could see no steps, just ladders but she had mentioned a tunnel. I couldn't see a tunnel so I trundle over and there it is a little room with the towels and a tunnel and there are steps doing to the tunnel (I can't do the ladder) I run back, get my suit and put in about 40 minutes of water aerobics. I'm the only one there.

Indulged in Jack Stack BBQ again, turkey and lamb ribs this time. They were amazing. packed everything up. Tomorrow I go to the casino (because the price of this place is going to shoot way up).

What I Just Finished Reading:
The Antique Hunters Guide to Murder - this was pretty good

What I am Currently Reading:

The Faraway Inn - a cozy fantasy (portal) set in Vermont. I'm enjoying it.

Our Sisters Keeper - a very weird own voices black magic setting in the 1920s, has some serious creepy vibes

The Gay Disaster Detective Agency - one of my arcs. I usually like Lev AC Rosen but this isn't working for me.

The Death Card - currently struggling to get into it

The Kindness of Strangers - another arc and I'm not sure this is going to work for me

What I Plan to Read Next: some of my looming arcs

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The workshops were...different

2026-05-27T02:06:49Z

I had a hypoglycemic event last night so of course the correction left me over 300 this morning and for some reason my phone did not go off when I set it. It went off when I was getting up the last two days so I was cranky about getting to the breakfast with barely time to get to the first workshop.

It was an oddly laid out place with workshops all over the damn place (I did not bring my cane. I will bring it tomorrow) My first workshop was moved all the way across campus so I went to the one next door. Not really a topic that interested me that much but I did get some helpful things from it for the syllabus.

Work shop number two was canceled. Boo. I wanted to do the dungeon crawl case study escape room thing. I went to the one next door. This one was interesting, talking about how out dated some of the graphics and concepts we still use are and I was wondering why some of it hasn't been adopted.

The lunch hour was something else. I have been going to these off and one for 16 years and this is the first time the line was insane (I was literally in a different building) They had one table of food and RAN OUT. There is no real excuse for this because they know how many people have registered, not sure who messed up. Luckily more food was cooked up (didn't go with the rest of it mind you). I got my food 10 minutes before the afternoon session started.

That was a case study one by a former doc turned teacher (similar to my story) and...for the first time I used ChatGPT to create the case studies and I was a bit terrified at how fast it did it and relatively accurate too. In talking to a few others I might remove the extended responses from my exams and put in simple case studies (as the nclex for the nurses are all going to those). Also it made me very sad to write this case study as a SOAP note (even though I am relieved I no longer have to write SOAP notes any more, the medical record a doc writes every time they see you).

My last workshop was a bust. No one showed up. I moaned not again. I don't want to sneak into another workshop late again. And my table mates say why bother? Let's just go get on the bus and go home. And so we did. The fun thing was before that we were talking and I mentioned my age (it was relevant to whatever it was we were talking about) and the guy I was with said I would never have guessed that (his partner agreed) why thank you. I don't think I look nearly 60 either.

Also at lunch I brought out my heavy ass laptop because the blaster box for Hazbin Hotel was dropping at noon (10 minutes late as it turns out) it's their new card set and it will sell out. I managed to get it...twice over because I fat fingered my touch screen and it would NOT let me empty it out probably because it sold out in minutes and I'm like fine, I'll buy it because I can either sell it whole or more likely get the cards out and sell them separately. These cards have been selling out in under 5 minutes and people are reselling them for hundreds. I won't do that but I can sell it for easy 10-20 a card if I wanted to. I can recoup this and each one has an ultra rare and rare and other specials. Those I'll keep. Have I mentioned I love cards? I've been collecting them since 1977 with Star Wars (I even have the 70s era Planet of the Apes tv show), I have shit tons of Buffyverse and Fullmetal Alchemist cards. I have the entire Sandman set including chasers (probably worth a lot less now that we know how skeevy Gaiman is)

Dinner was chicken speidini at Garozzo's, yummy but I almost wish I had ordered the other chicken dish (they're credited from turning the traditional beef speidini to chicken) because I didn't like the pasta that came with this. I would have enjoyed the garlic/olive oil one with the other dish. I haven't eaten the tiramisu yet.

I also DID buy my Kansas City Gangster tour ticket for Saturday at 10. All the afternoon ones were sold out but you know what I don't mind. I have been getting up early for days now and once I get that over with I'll have time to do my afternoon stuff. Now to sit down and figure out my tourist days. I know what I want to do Thursday but now for the rest of the weekend.

Have fannish 50 the questions, I'm using Buffy for this

Day 4: Least favourite female character. This was much harder than it should be. I decided I wasn't going to use any one off characters and using Joyce or Dawn felt too easy. I didn't hate them. Joyce made a lot of bad choices that annoyed me and Dawn was...supposed to be younger than who was cast so I don't actually blame the character for being off.

I went with Kendra. She was a poorly drawn character. I liked that they went with the naivete/lack of social awareness because she was never a girl. She was just a weapon to be used until she was killed. That was a nice contrast to Buffy's wild side. Maybe it was that she came off as rather...dumb and that the one character of color on this whole show (other than Giles' girlfriend and Mr. Trick, a villain) was there really to make the white characters look better. It was uncomfortable. She was there to die (so much for the traditional training).

( all questions under here )

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I am full of gin and beef

2026-05-26T02:48:04Z

the conference portion of the con is over and now it'll be two days of workshops which are always so invigorating. I almost wish this was the end of July/beginning of August so I could roll into the new semester all fired up.

We had the celebratory cocktails and it's usually appetizers but today it was make your own ramen bowl. Wow. (kimchi and spicy tofu were so in my bowl). Expecting not much, I had already ordered dinner from a BBQ joint (highly recced) it had a menu like none I've seen. So beef burnt ends and beef ribs with a pool of smoked beans it is. Delicious. I mean I don't usually eat meat but when I do go carnivore, it gets ridiculous.

Finally met my mentee who didn't much need me (as expected) as he's a retired family practice doc just moving into teaching. got a mug from holt anatomical. Didn't win a single door prize. Didn't murder any kids but the urge was there (they were screaming in the halls until 130 in the morning and several other Hapsters did complain. I had to turn them in when I went to heat up my lunch. they had trashed the microwave, food and wrappers all over the floor. You know, I've BEEN a kid at a hotel with school functions and I never did this

I did find a few things that no one but me will be interested in but I'm putting them here so I remember. A study contract for students (how long to study, what days, what's in their way), having them do a group eportfolio of their dissections, collaborative testing before exams to build confidence, using the guess who game to do histology quizzing (and others if you build it) and gee I've already forgot a few.

I watched a giant chunk of The Pitt (they had the whole season on) today. It is easily the most accurate medical drama I've ever seen and there was some real ptsd on a few of those scenes for me. Shudders. And then I saw The Bride (part of it) WTF was that? Easily the worst movie I have seen in years. Also thanks for the multiple sexual assault attempts in it.

dinner

new mug

It's music monday 30 weeks of music. This week's prompt is # 27 A song you discovered from a tv show. I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

( There are SO many TV shows that introduced me to so much music )

here's the whole prompt list

( All under here )

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How is this so exhausting?

2026-05-25T03:25:11Z

I mean I'm just sitting in lectures and walking around one exhibitor hall but I feel like I've worked 36 hours without a break.

Okay had to stop for a second after three loud explosions. Not lightning. Not fireworks. No clue. Pool people were looking around too but maybe it is a storm, just one I can't see lightning for. But it was nice all day. Weird.

All the little kids are gone but now there are new ones in this hotel (it's huge, 40 floors) and they're doing the same thing, running floor to floor taking up the elevators and screaming down the halls. eye roll (seriously I had a focus group today, left a talk I was enjoying early to give myself 15 minutes to get upstairs for my lap top and back again only to still end up 5 minutes late. Slow elevators. We also have an Indian wedding going on with all their beautiful finery (one of the boys was talking to me in the elevator, he was the sweetest thing)

Speaking of sweet, man it's a matter of outside perspective isn't it? I was SO disappointed in my not-violet hair color but people have commented about how nice it looks but between last night and today like a half dozen strangers have come up to tell me how much they liked my purple plum hair one young professor (grad student?) told me that it matched my plum flower shirt perfectly and even my hair style reminded him of flowers. And here I thought people would think it was ugly because it wasn't the color I had originally wanted.

I learned a few things in the update seminars today including the huge role of vitamin A in craniofacial deformities (cleft lip, cleft palate etc). Planning a child? Get some A in your life. And while I knew that pigs were very close to humans physiologically (more so than mice but I don't normally talk animal testing because of people's feelings about it), I didn't know we were looking at them in terms of fertility. Nor did I know that male fertility has dropped 52% in the last 50 years (so 1% a year which doesn't sound like much until you really see the math) I missed why they think it is other than endocrine disruptors and environmental health, like pesticides nor did I know we had transgenic pigs with the glowing green jellyfish gene that they are using to test a few theories about breast milk which is another cause of lowering fertility, immunologic health and probably more. Breast milk has more than colostrum and fats/sugars in it. They have EVs (extracellular vesicles) which they're tracking with those transgenic pigs but we do know be it human or pig, breast milk leads to the healthiest of babies, cow milk is a close second but formula and plant milk are way behind (sorry vegans) Soy milk especially has the ability to be an endocrine disruptor because it's an estrogen mimic (this I knew and I don't eat much tofu any more or drink the milk at all because my cancer is estrogen sensitive and why risk it)

The focus group I was in was interesting but way harder than I thought. It was on escape rooms and I mean it was HARD. It took me and my partner a half hour and some hints to get out. It's not available to buy yet but I think it might frustrate my students because you really have to not only know your stuff but solve puzzles too. It is a virtual game, fantastic graphics etc and like a true professor on a labeling exercise there were more than you needed to get it right (and it took me a second to realize that randomly capitalized letters were the code for getting a lock open) some things you really had to know your shit or you were staying locked in there. My students are never escaping (and hell I barely made it past the match the emoji string part but mostly because I couldn't see it on the labeling part, too small, I'm too old) I think the overall feeling was shorter ones with just key systems would be good versus trying to tie multiple systems together this was tough enough to be a final exam prep (I'd have to give them major points) I think it was fun and if it was reasonable I would consider it. However, with all due respect to the very cool VR tool another vendor let me use 1000$ a student to use it is not reasonable. A full lab would cost me 25K (but it's only 3K in years after that. Per student? Per class? Don't matter, that's the entire budget for my entire department.

I never met my mentee. We just played phone tag. I did have a great idea handed to me at breakfast (there was that explosion sounds again wtf IS that?) one of the profs is sharing her pintrest and what she does is collect AI generated anatomy stuff, much of which is wrong and she prints it and makes the students fix it.

And yeah no writerly ways other than links (because I'm just sitting here watching Insidious while eating dill pickle corn puffs and whatever that sound is, it's shaking the windowpane. It seems mechanical almost like a train track.) I did make progress on my merfolk story and the sapphic divinity story crapped out today (mostly because I have a character and a setting and no plot and I don't know the Rifreddo Witch festival. I need to research it more)

Oh it IS Fireworks. I can't see them in the sky because my view is wrong but I can see them reflecting on the glass building across from me. Probably some baseball game or memorial day celebration.

and as I wrap this up it's nearly 1130 and people are running and yelling in the hall and I am not amused

OPEN Calls

81 Publishing Opportunities for Historically Underrepresented Writers (keeping in mind this isn't just people of color, LGBT, disability etc count for some of them)

28 Journals with Fast Response Times

Fun In The Dark. Small town weirdness, uncanny communities, strange local traditions, unsettling suburban or village horror

The Submission Pit May 2026 Window Open speculative fiction

Spookane: A Spokane-Based Horror Anthology Horror stories connected to Spokane, Washington and nearby regions

The Monstrous & The Divine This is the one I'm trying to write for once I do more research on that witch festival in Italy

Crooked Spine Issue 1 Open horror / debut issue horror fiction

Movie Horror Themed Anthology Horror centered on movies, filmmaking, or watching films

From around the web

YouTube Is Crawling with Pirated Audiobooks Made Using A.I. This is behind a pay wall but the title tells you all you know. I did find someone (real) reading classic short stories and after listening to a few of them I am FLOODED on YT with AI readings of all the classics plus I'm sure if I clicked on it AI pirated books. Can we just not.

How and Why I’m Creating a Physical Archive of My Writing

Association of American Publishers Applauds Sweeping Default Judgement Against Notorious Pirate Site Anna’s Archive

Authors Guild Wins Default Judgment Against TouchPoint Press.

The Ghost in the Machine (Inherited Creative Blocks).

How to Pace Your Prose for Greater Impact another one for the current book

From Betty

Anatomy of a Fable.

Five Surprisingly Successful Characters and Why They Work

Giving Your World Fantastic Skies.

Should Your Tale Start With Dark Backstory?

Literary Pathways for Microtension

How to Spot and Plug Plot Holes

Revisited: “Your Brain on Writing”

The Kind of Short Stories People Really Want to Read

Why Writers Should Never Make Smart Characters Act Dumb

How Writers Can Use Pinterest to Drive Traffic and Build Long-Term Visibility

Why Consistency Matters More Than Ever for Author Email Newsletters

Do Authors Really Need a Book Launch Team? What Every Writer Should Know

Do Authors Really Need a Book Launch Team? What Every Writer Should Know

What to Do When Someone Writes ‘Your’ Book

Thoughts on How the Marketplace Is Shaping the Stories We Tell

The Weird Editing Habit I Can’t Write Without

A Plot Twist with a Twist

Why Research is Important when Writing Fiction

Your Voice Is the Point. Stop Toning It Down

The Art of Withholding Information I need to contemplate this one for my current novel

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus: Visualization

comments

Made it here

2026-05-24T03:47:52Z

very nice hotel room, too tired to say too much more.

I basically missed the cocktail party, did manage to sneak in for a gin and tonic and got upstairs to my online Abney Park concert.

Dream Imagination is also here in the hotel which is a steam contest for first grade thru college so this hotel is PACKED and packed with kids.

I did not sleep last night but as I rolled like a hot dog on a quickie mart heating rack I know how Ezio Asha and Liliana's novel ends

but i'm falling asleep and 6 AM comes early so..

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Please drive in the center of the lane

2026-05-23T03:31:32Z

Yeah lane assist, I'd do that IF I could see it. It rained for 335 miles from my door to evil_little_dog's. Some places I couldn't even see. From Cincinnati to Louisville I'm not sure we ever got above 25 mph.

Luckily it was mostly uneventful (lots of accidents none near me) and the Jetta gets surprisingly good gas mileage.

have some recs for fannish 50

Undeserved Mercy Torchwood

Through The Ring Stargate Atlantis

Live! Starsky & Hutch

Musical The Owl House

Soulmate The Owl House

Protocol Torchwood

All Roads Lead To Haven Hazbin Hotel

Childhood The Owl House

Opposite Hazbin Hotel

Gambler's Fallacy Hornblower - C. S. Forester Hornblower

Unwritten 镇魂 | Guardian

Recuperation 9-1-1

Handyman Teen Wolf

Flyer Derby The Owl House

Picnic The Owl House

Play Time Teen Wolf

captivated captive Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates

Horror (Movie) The Owl House

Seasons The Owl House

Cozy Evening Stargate Atlantis

Before The End Torchwood

Human Realm The Owl House

Fairytale The Owl House

The Salvage Yard The Trixie Belden Mysteries - Julie Campbell Tatham & Kathryn KennyThe Three Investigators | Die drei

Bedridden Teen Wolf

Normal-ish Hazbin Hotel

Learning to Compromise Teen Wolf

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It's a Jetta

2026-05-22T03:30:30Z

It was an interesting ride to Enterprise. The guy I've been talking to picked me up and we were talking, got onto the topic of writing. He's doing a post apocalyptic thing where he wants to subvert the toxic masculinity you often see in dystopic fic and queer it as well (the character is a bi man) and he is a Huskerdust Hazbin fan. I'm surprised he was so comfortable to tell me about a queer story here in deep red southern Ohio. Maybe in the fall I'll try harder to get a SF/F/Horror writers group going at the library. Maybe there is more of us than I know.

The car is a Jetta. I haven't been in a Volkswagon since my mom's 1970s Bug. I had to dig out the owner's manual three times before I got home because shit wasn't where I'm used to it being in my Japanese cars. Also how to tell I haven't been in a car in almost a decade? Within an hour I bashed my knee into the steering column, knocked my skull into the top of the door, jabbed my elbow into that same door. I'm already over the Jetta and they gave it to me with no damn gas. Why is the gas tank on the wrong damn side?

I drove it to my coffee shop, went inside. Not one seat open and six people ahead of me in line. I leave, go to Kroger for road snacks (forgot my toothpaste) go back. It's still jammed but I get at seat. WTF? It's just a random Thursday morning. Are people taking off already for Memorial Day? I'm there trying to write and hoping my book will come at the library before I leave tomorrow. It didn't.

Come home, did laundry but didn't do much else. I don't have to leave until later tomorrow because Evil Little Dog has work and I don't want to be sitting in her driveway waiting. I have a list. I feel like I'm going to leave something.

At 4 pm I get an email. Book is at the library. Head desk. Well now I can get my toothpaste and the book tomorrow (I have to go to Jackson to get to where I'm going)

I took a swing at that not-likely shot at the demon anthology curated by V. Castro. It's worth a shot and I really like that story. I did edit the Appalachian one thanks to ELD's beta but I also shelved it for now since that open call seems hinky.

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It's so very rainy

2026-05-21T03:32:32Z

It was so dark this morning I had to leave the bathroom light on to see to get into the living room to find the light switch.

I popped to work to put the plants in the greenhouse and then down to Gallipolis to return and book and see Copper Moth to fix that necklace. Well she exaggerated about that. The old Woolworth is an antique mall with various vendors. They've never even seen her. Eye roll. I ended up trying to fix the necklace and my malocchio one as well. I have SO much jewelry bullshit that I feel guilty about it. But not. one. silver. jump ring! I found some but they're these weird double loops that you can't get into easily. I ended up using 2 copper ones and using an old bracelet to extend the necklace I needed the longer chain on.

Had the writers group meeting tonight. that was good.

What wasn't good, I looked over that Undead Appalachia open call and it had a strange caveat: email us for submission guidelines. Why isn't that on the web page? I email and it keeps bouncing back as a non viable email so I poke around the webpage which...has nothing but two open calls. Now I got this from a trusted source but it looks like someone didn't do their due diligence (self included) so I guess that story probably isn't going anywhere just now.

On the other hand I just found a demon open call by flame tree press (very small window of chance) and I know them. They are legit. I might send them my woman of no consequence. It's about 500 words outside the sweet spot but I'll try anyhow (they're taking 4 stories so I'm not going to twist this story so it's 4K like I just did to my ghost story because they would not read outside of 4k)

What I Just Finished Reading:

That Which Feeds Us - Hawai'ian Gothic, very creepy, low gore horror, one of the best things I've read this year so far

We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune this didn't work for me

What I am Currently Reading:

The Gay Disaster Detective Agency - one of my arcs. I usually like Lev AC Rosen but this isn't working for me.

The Death Card - currently struggling to get into it

The Antique Hunters Guide to Murder - I'm enjoying it

The Kindness of Strangers - another arc and I'm not sure this is going to work for me

What I Plan to Read Next: some of my looming arcs

And finally here are my pictures from last weekend in Louisville. evil_little_Dog took the pics of me.

( all the pictures from Louisville and the con )</lj-cut<

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The good news is

2026-05-20T03:54:11Z

My right eye is okay. He thinks maybe I'm having an allergic reaction to the silicon they use in the newer contacts. He's given me older style contacts as a trial which...worst timing. If My eye swells up again I don't want it to be at this con. No glaucoma, no diabetic retinopathy (huge relief), no scarring of my cornea (also huge relief) They were offering pictures of the back of your eyes for 25$ (insurance no pay) Being diabetic with issues of control, I said yes. Might as well get a good baseline. Also there is a relief in looking at them and seeing no bleeding, no macular degeneration or optic nerve swelling. That said, my vision is shit and has gotten worse. I'm now roughly at 20/320 so no I can't see the big E on the snellen chart and without my glasses/contacts I'm legally blind. They couldn't give me the sample contacts at the right diopter. (they only had -.75 and I need higher)

But while I was in there a storm hit. It didn't last long but the drive home was filled with broken trees and the road was flooded and I was going to get dinner because now I can't see and I don't have a lot of food at home because I'm leaving for 10 days. And...the power was out to all the restaurants. Raptor shrieks. (had hot dogs because somehow I have packs of them in the freezer with packs of bacon as a shrine to bad choices.

Also I had to renew my plates and I about fainted when I opened the paperwork. They more than doubled the damn price. I pointed that out at the BMV and they said 'it went up but not double.' Oh really? Because I have it right here in my check book (ohio is stupid, it's cheaper to pay by check than credit card by like 10$) It was 34 last year and it's 66 this year so how is that not double? She couldn't answer me.

I did not have a good day today when it came to cleaning. I don't even know what happened. It was 11 AM and then suddenly 2 pm and I accomplished nothing. I'm annoyed at myself. I did pack my suitcase tonight while my eyes were dilated because I couldn't do much else.

Rocket had a banner night last night. he lined up three dead mice for me. Thanks buddy. Nothing like a sidewalk of dead rodents

Have fannish 50 the questions, I'm using Buffy for this

Day 3: Favourite female character. You'd think it would be Buffy but actually it's Willow. I saw a lot of myself in early Willow, like a lot. I was pretty much her in high School. I liked her a bit less toward the end (we're not even getting into Dark Willow, that was handled so badly) especially with the whole throwing Buffy out of her own house.

But I liked Willow alot. She was smart, loyal and funny. Alyson was probably a bit too cute to be the outsider nerd girl but otherwise I loved her.

And I will say this, I also liked Cordelia. Yes she was the mean girl and I had girls like her in my life back then and 40 years later I'm still pissed as hell at them. I think she was well done by Charisma (and did not deserve what happened to her).

( all questions under here )

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I feel accomplished

2026-05-19T03:56:07Z

I finished my undead Appalachia story (probably not enough ghosts) by writing 3300 words today and that's with me doing 30 minutes writing mixed with 30 minutes of cleaning. It's a story I've wanted to write for a long time. My characters are named for my Uncle Joe and Uncle Libertino (on both sides of the family) who died in the mines. The spooky thing is I called it Number Nine mine and checked with Mom only to learn Number Nine IS the mine Libertino died in. (It must have been in my subconscious). I need to get this quickly betaed because it's due next week.

But can we say enough is enough? I went with the casino as my alternative hotel to the con hotel (I'll be staying there for the con but I plan to stay in Kansas City for a few days as a tourist after the con and the con hotel's price goes to 280 a night). And it's 110 a night. I book it for 4 more days. Afterwards I get a bill break down and it's 110 on thursday. 120 on Friday and Sunday but Saturday balloons to 230 a night. WTF.

Look I can see the price going up some on a weekend but to DOUBLE your damn fee for a hotel room that doesn't change? It's insulting. I wouldn't have complained if it was you know 10 or 20$ but 120$ price hike?!? I looked for cheaper hotels. Found them but they are SO sketchy looking. I'll probably suck it up at the casino because a) it's safer with all the security b) has cameras everywhere so again safer c) has five restaurants right there so if I don't want to go out I don't have to suck up all the door dash fees and just eat at the casino. d) it'll give me something to do after five. I'm not ready for bed at 8 and literally everything I want to do closes at 5.

It's music monday 30 weeks of music. This week's prompt is # 26 A song from your favorite band

( I hate picking favorites )

here's the whole prompt list

( All under here )

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Writerly Ways

2026-05-18T03:54:11Z

But before I get into it can I say my luck is still going. Woke up this morning with a tick right on the edge of my arm pit with a 2 by 1 inch red spot surrounding it. Either it's erythema migrans or my blood thinners and the ticks did NOT play well. Off I go to urgent care to get probiotic antibiotics (because we are lymes and alpha gow central around here) They've made changes. No more 1 weeks worth of doxycycline and vomiting. It's just 1 day, mega dose. And they gave me anti nausea meds. I'm holding in.

So let's talk world building. I mentioned struggling through TJ Klune's We Burned So Bright with the worldbuilding as it is (about half way in it finally mentions getting gas is getting hard) with the gas situation and frankly everyone seems too calm for knowing the world is ending.

This whole worldbuilding pain started last week at the con when meeting merfolk and knowing there is an open call for merfolk from their point of view and wanting their culture (actual merfolk not humans as mers) and I was thinking how much world building do I want to put in for a short story that isn't paying fantastic. Because I can see her with her whistle/whalesong language and her chromatophores changing color. And then I get into...what the hell do THEY call whales, dolphins, sharks, humans. And then it gets daunting.

Then it spiraled into my current novel. Do they have horses, dogs, cats or something else? I went the lazy route and said yes. People like horses, dogs and cats and it's freaking hard coming up with weird animals and getting people to see it as you see it. I mean I could show a not-horse pulling a cart or someone riding astride.

So my question to you is if you do fantasy worlds how do you tackle the animal/plant issues?

OPEN CALLS

Genderf**k Anthology Transgressive trans and non-binary erotica

Cosmic Roots And Eldritch Shores June 2026 Window Speculative storytelling including science fiction, fantasy, myth, legend, fairy tales, and eldritch fiction

Menace Magazine Open (speculative, transgressive, literary weird, dark themes)

Side Hustle: Horror Stories for Late Capitalism Gig work, second jobs, and late capitalism horror

Heavy Are The Years The weight of time, aging, immortality, memory, responsibility, and the passage of years (It's due next week so if you have a novella that fits)

Shallow Waters: May 2026 Contest Halloween Night

5 Paying Literary Magazines to Submit to in May 2026

27 Approachable Literary Journals

Roxane Gay Books Is Open To Novels

Pyrite Space Heists / Scavenging / Piracy / Prospecting / Fool’s Gold Dreams This is for a novella and it's not due until November

Mertails Merfolk / Mermaid Stories / Underwater Lives

The First Line – Fall 2026 All genres of fiction, poetry, and literary nonfiction

Untitlted YA SciFi Graphic Novel Anthology About AI Artificial Intelligence / Technology’s Impact on Humanity / Near-Future Sci-Fi

SpecPoVerse May-June 2026 Window Details Speculative Poetry

Tales to Terrify horror podcast

Undead Appalachia due next week (I confused this one with the ghost one I submitted to today. sigh, still trying for it)

105 Calls for Submissions in May 2026 - Paying markets

The Monstrous & The Divine Sapphic goddesses and monsters

From around the web

Meta Lawsuit Over AI Training Should Alarm Every Author and Publisher

Do Characters have a Nervous System?

5 Ways to Turn Off Your Inner Editor and Get More Writing Done

Why I’m No Longer Chasing 100 Rejections Every Year

The Emotional Toll on Writers in the Modern Landscape (And Why So Many Are Burning Out)

You Get One Page to Hook a Reader. Yes, Really.

Writing on Solid Ground: Create an Intentional Writing Practice

Book Festival Scams, Interview Fakes: Two New AI-Driven Impersonation Scams to Avoid

Choosing the Right Scenes to Go in the Right Places

Perseverance is Not Enough: THIS is what got me a book deal

From Betty

Seven Ways a Humble Hero Can Make a Difference

How to Pace Your Prose for Greater Impact

Five Traits of a Winning Concept

The Ghost in the Machine (Inherited Creative Blocks)

Heroine’s Journey vs Interiority: What Writers Need to Know

New Research Tool for Writers

Coping Mechanism Thesaurus: Fantasizing About Revenge

YouTube for Writers Part 9: Mastering Upload Defaults and SEO to Get Your Videos Found

How to Create a Self-Publishing Budget: A Christian Writer’s Guide to Counting the Cost

The Hidden Cost of Free Books for Authors

The Story Heart ~ Tips from a Screenwriter Turned Novelist

4 Guides to a Sustainable Writing Life

comments

My luck continues to hold

2026-05-17T03:30:57Z

I was at the coffee shop for the new latte release. I wanted to try the salted honey rosemary latte. Not enough (read any) rosemary flavor but over all good. However somehow I hit a ctrl button or the touch mouse or something and shut down my document without the save, don't save, cancel options (or it hit it somehow). I lost an hour's work and 2K worth of novel. Gutted.

And then it started storming. Where's my umbrella? in the car. Did not go to the new store opening because it was lightning everywhere. Did go to the library to pick up two hard copies of arcs I failed to read. And Jesus why the fuck did I ask for an arc of this TJ Klune novella? It's depressing AF and I can't get my head around the worldbuilding. The world is ending but someone is still refining oil into gas and people are showing up for their shitty gas station jobs?!? I mean how else is this RV getting across the country (yes, yes I know, it's not the point but weirdly I can't get past it)

My brain is a nest of snakes lately too. Partly because I don't have work distracting me, partly because something has brought up old insecurities, like really old, ingrained ones. I've sorted through dozens of Bourbon City Steam photos, literally hundreds of them and outside of the one picture where I won that trivia trophy, that is the only photo of me from all three days. I didn't see one of me doing my stuff (but I know the camera man was in there). I didn't make the dances but I was there for most things.

It's like high school and college all over. I'm in every play, multiple bands, an officer in my sorority and I barely exist in the yearbook. I know it's just ego talking but it's odd to me that I don't seem to catch anyone's eye. Would anyone even remember me? Other than two people there would anyone notice if I wasn't? I know the answer. No one would. My one friend didn't even realize I had never been to this one before. Maybe he imagined me there. Maybe that's a good thing.

Sadly I can't put I fucking love science links here for science saturday. They've started a paid subscription to read them. So have these.

High-status Roman woman was buried in a lead coffin with jet hairpins and exotic resins, archaeologists find

Homo erectus genetic material sequenced for the first time, and it shows 'deep genetic links' with modern humans

A combination of amazement and horror': Hitchhiker fish hide in manta ray buttholes

Microplastics absorb heat in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming — as if they weren't bad enough

Pollution may fuel depression, anxiety and other mental health problems, emerging research suggests

'I heard gasps' and 'oh my God': Artemis II astronauts reveal inside story of their mind-bending solar eclipse

'Exceptional' drilled tooth reveals Neanderthals practiced dentistry in Siberia 60,000 years ago

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Why does it feel like I accomplish nothing?

2026-05-16T02:07:24Z

I did get laundry done but I misremembered when Enterprise closes for the day. It was 5 not four so I ended up making 2 trips to Jackson for nothing. Had I remembered it closed at 5 I would have driven up there and gone to dinner before going to book club at 6.

Oh well. I ended up getting a car not a SUV. I might call and see if I can change it. I didn't want a Jeep but I'm like a car won't be so bad. My bad hip won't be a problem with just a few days in a car. No sooner than I get home the bad hip which hasn't hurt in forever goes, hey remember me? I'm here to wreck your day.

And now I have to go back to Jackson tomorrow. Sigh.

But I cleaned nothing. I wrote little. Maybe tonight.

So have the fannish 50 fic write up

Searching The Stars Torchwood

Change the Shipping Address Hazbin Hotel

Screaming Safewords into the Void Hazbin Hotel

Ordering Hazbin Hotel

From The Shadows. Torchwood

Conspiracy Lasagna. Hazbin Hotel

Delayed Mission Stargate Atlantis

Not This Shit Again South Park

Multiple Signals Hazbin Hotel

occasionally stuck Hazbin Hotel

comments

Geez my luck

2026-05-15T03:31:58Z

So the day started well. I ran to Gallipolis on flimsy excuses: I wanted the hard copy of an arc I failed to read on time and knew I never would as an ebook and the library had it. While I was there I was taking my new pendant to its creator to get a longer chain.

I get the book but the store the jeweler was in was closed for the weekend because the power died in that old woolworth building. Ugh. This is like 20 miles away.

I get home and try to do the laundry only to find the lock has been changed. I get the new passcode and yet again some fuck has their clothes just rotting in the washers. I'm too depressed to bother with it (if it's still there tomorrow I'm tossing it on the folding rack)

I go to call for my car and that's when I hit a snag because that's what my anxiety and depression needed today. When I got the hotel room back around Christmas, the schedule wasn't out yet. They had just put out the calls for speakers at that point. I didn't realize that it wasn't on its usual time frame. It's started on a Sunday but I have myself arriving on Friday (It usually starts Saturday) so I call Sheraton to change it and they say it's too late to do that but if I want to call the hotel direct just dial back and click the talk to front desk option. I'm ripping because it's 10 days in advance not 24 hours (which most hotels will let you do).

I call back. There is no front desk option but I get the operator and he drops friday off my reservation in 30 seconds. So much for you can't do that. Apparently when you find someone willing to do their job....

I call Enterprise and in spite of using the card I was given yesterday, I don't get a local agent. I get someone who didn't even know the name of my town. I say thanks but no thanks. I'll drive back up tomorrow...twice, no problems. gah.

And I'll have to make my hotel reservation for my siteseeing part of the trip after the con which is okay because that means I'm not trying to cram into something the holiday weekend which when ELD and I did that two years ago it didn't go well.

I really wish I had a local writers group or at least someone who is interested in my new novel to talk to. It would be helpful. sigh. I miss sharing enthusiasm with others for my project and theirs. Would be nice to have again (or at least something more than indifference)

Speaking of my luck I had something happen today that has never happened. I had FIVE offers direct from the publishers to read their books (and one sounded really good) but three were for June 9th. I already have three for that date and knew I could never commit to these (pouts) two others I might take since one is a series I like and not due for a blog tour until Nov. What are the chances of all this?

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Didn't get my relaxing day

2026-05-14T04:00:10Z

Nor did the clothes get watched but I have another trip in like 10 days and so much is still up in the air. Once I get that done I can relax.

I did get the summer dress clothes out. Now to get the casual clothes changed out too and who knows with this weather. TOmorrow is cold for this time of year and by the weekend it's going to be 90. Do not want.

I had something to say but now I can't remember what it is. Ah, aging.

What I Just Finished Reading:

Dungeons and Danger - a paranormal mystery It was pretty good

Hooked on Murder - boring mystery

What I am Currently Reading:

That Which Feeds Us - Hawai'ian Gothic, very creepy, low gore horror, one of the best things I've read this year so far

The Death Card - currently struggling to get into it

What I Plan to Read Next: We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune

April's slim reads

The Barn Identity mystery

Stay for a Spell cozy fantasy

Edinburgh Twilight historical mystery

Tale of the Hidden Village: World of Heavenfall Fantasy

Deathly Fates Fantasy

What Feasts at Night folk horror

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Jungle Jim's

2026-05-13T03:30:26Z

Today I came home which seemed to take 12 years instead of a few hours. Ha. I do believe I am incapable of being in the Cincinnati area and NOT stop at Jungle Jim's It's over 200,000 sqft of space with SO. Many. international isles, regular grocery store, toys, meat shop, cheese shop and cigar bar, beer and so much more.

So many choices. I need none of it. I want all of it. I got my usual red bean and lotus paste Japanese buns, cheese buns, halva and baklava (yeah 90% of this is either chocolate, baked goods and cheese). I was going to get kimchi but it leaked on my hands so I left it.

I got cookies from holland, speculaasbrokken, the size of my face! British and German chocolates. Stared at the dutch licorice but didn't get it. Also passed on the salmiakki (I think I tried it once and didn't like it), found fried strips of banana from Indonesia (OMG these are amazing). Apparently they had bought a ton of mint flavored violet crumbles because they were selling it for .99 a big ol' bag (bought two, wasn't sure I'd like because I don't need this much candy) Also found Vlasic dill pickle 'cheese' puffs. Ooo.

Found a garlic/asiago cheese bread (it's tasty but not as cheesy as I'd like). But oh man I lost my damn mind in the cheese cave. I got nearly a dozen types (I've opened several) The gorgonzola dolce vero wasn't as bluey as I'd like it. I found a gouda with wild nettles (haven't opened it yet) something called garlic noir (yes tastes like roasted garlic), a fig/honey goat cheese (so smooth it barely has a goat tang) smoked cheddar (always a fave) and two big blocks of gjetost which this is the only place I can find that cheese and they don't always have it. I was so excited.

Rocket is so mad at me, he came inside and said fuck you and went back outside. I haven't seen him since. Snort.

And my entire feed was flooded by this news PCOS has been renamed Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome.. NOW maybe we can stop going it's just women's problems, lose some weight and take birth control pills and break out of the misogyny and fucking research it. I love that one article said it's undiagnosed 70% of the time something I've been saying to my students for two decades because I have it. I make sure we discuss it and there is NO WAY it's only 5% which is what has been in the literature because there is almost always 2 other students with it in each class. (to be fair my current ob/gyn took it seriously but there isn't treatments because 'hormones make women too hard to study' oh bullshit)

Will it get studied? Probably not in America with RFK and Trump in charge of the medical arena and the moneys for science.

Have fannish 50 (with some recs and stuff)

The questions I got from kitarella, I'm using Buffy for this

Day 2: Favourite episode - So hard to pick one but if I had to chose it's either School Hard or Band Candy, still in the shows early days. One gives us Spike/Drusilla who are still my favorite couple in the entire show and the other gives us Giles being bad.

( all questions under here )

a little thing called belief Hazbin Hotel

A Young Man's Fancy Stargate Atlantis

Regression The Owl House

Barely Coping Torchwood

Sect Leader Jiang's 31 step program to happiness
陈情令 | The Untamed

Camila Mama Week 2026 The Owl House

Finding Dusty Boxes Teen Wolf

No Judgement Hazbin Hotel

Kept Hazbin Hotel

House Cleaning Teen Wolf

Indulgence Hazbin Hotel

Hope. Law & Order: Criminal Intent

The Long Road Home The Amazing Digital Circus

Poisoned Kiss Hazbin Hotel

Ice Time Teen Wolf

Preparing for the Storm Stargate Atlantis

Sleepless, Waiting Torchwood

Local Transport Torchwood

Proper Storage 911

She Opens Her Eyes (She Closes Her Eyes) Hazbin Hotel

A Slow Quickie Hazbin Hotel

Snip, Snip, Snip Hazbin Hotel

Pillows Stargate Atlantis

Unexpected Trouble Teen Wolf

Like and Know. Hazbin Hotel

Friends Indeed Torchwood

Customer Is King Hazbin Hotel

Jaw-Dropping Hazbin Hotel

Aftershocks Stargate Atlantis

Escaping the Memories The Professionals

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Museum day

2026-05-12T04:17:19Z

I stayed an extra day in Louisville because I've never been a tourist here before. I usually just drive through (I'll be driving thru again in just a couple weeks). One of the ones I wanted to do I couldn't because it's only open weekends but there was one I had been planning on since I first decided to come to the con: the Frazier Kentucky History museum. It's downtown Louisville and it's the start of the bourbon trail.

I was originally planning to do the bourbon trail but honestly I have enough bourbon lying around the house as is and I'm rather worn out from the weekend but the museum looked promising. Last year it was voted best museum in KY and I can see why. It's three floors and I managed to hit it just as a docent was giving the Cool KY talk so that was fun. I had no idea some woman had ROWED across the Atlantic Ocean. Her boat is here. I knew about the paralympian Oskana Masters but didn't know she lived here.

I really liked the one interactive map, by county that brought up fun facts about each county and a song for each. I wish more museums had something like that.

FLoor#2 was jam packed with history, much about the enslaved people, KY's less than stellar showing in the Civil War and about the Underground Railroad (including mapping out one family's life for years) KY was definitely sell African families down river sort of state and oddly wasn't segregated because they wanted to keep an eye on enslaved people who were often rooming with freed people.

They had bits on women I've never heard of including an Indigenous warrior chief, another few women doctors and one who is in my talk, Mary Edward Walker (look her up, she is something else) and more than one display about how white people don't get along even with other white people in the former of Bloody Monday when over 100 Irish and German immigrants were murdered. (the one thing that never seems to change is we find new immigrants to blame and hate)

Floor Three- it's all about the bourbon. I love some of the old bottles

Museum store: I have never seen a museum store without books. It had bourbon though. A lot of only find them in KY bottles (glad they were expensive because with my luck I'd like it and have to come back for it). They had replica vintage ones that I would have liked if I had places to display them.

From there I went to the Louisville Mega Caverns It's actually an old limestone quarry and it was oddly creepy. You approach what looks like a service access into the side of the hill and really it is just that. If not for the painted footprints in the tunnel I would have thought I was in the wrong spot and it goes on being all access tunnelly for about 500 yards before opening into a cavern and then you see the visitor center.

I get snagged by a group of elderly women in front of a 'sign this waiver' computer bank 'don't you jump the line!' I wasn't planning it. I get to the bank eventually and realize you had to have BOUGHT the ticket first. How about putting the purchase area before this then? I talk to the young guy about the walking vs tram tour but it turns out it didn't matter.

It's a random monday at 130 in the afternoon and everything is sold out until 6 pm (and they're taking like two dozen at a time) I give it a pass and slink out of the scary tunnel.

I move on to the third planned event cave hill cemetery and arboretum which is about 300 acres of the Victorian style rural cemeteries that are part park and part memorial. I saw many very unusual graves (pictures hopefully tomorrow) but only found two of the celebrity ones because even though the cemetery has its own app, my phone is trash and couldn't find a signal.

I did see Colonel Sanders (yes that Colonel) whose memorial is modest (his daughter made the bust) and Muhammad Ali, who also had a modest memorial. There are many other less modest ones and the places is filled with 500 plant species and a plethora of historic signage. Even found the person who designed the confederate flag (was not expecting or wanting that)

Much cooler I found TWO magicians including Tobin who invented the cabinet of proteus. I was struck immediately with the idea that Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis knew about him and that's where they got Tobin's Spirit Guide in Ghostbusters. Even if I'm wrong, I'm right.

I was there for hours. Came back to the hotel, got lazy and doordashed from an Asian restaurant that was highly recced in a few places District 6 and was trapped between do I get pho or the spicy cauliflower bao (or the spicy cauliflower dish). I should have gone with the big dish or the pho because the bao were small but very tasty. I could have eaten a pound of that cauliflower. Got their ube basque cheesecake too. Not as ube tasting as I would have liked but very good.

Then it was my author's virtual meet up and got some editing and writing done.

It's music monday 30 weeks of music. This week's prompt is # 25 A song from your pre teen years

( Welcome to the 70s )

here's the whole prompt list

( All under here )

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Museum day

2026-05-12T03:55:28Z

Last Day

2026-05-11T03:33:29Z

So no writerly ways today.

I went to see the blood sirens at the pool today but some of them were late and I had to bug off before they came (and I forgot cameras/phones) I had to run back upstairs to dress for my second talk.

I presented my research into the first ladies doctors. A lot less people today but that's expected on the last day. A lot of people would have been checking out at this time but I had about a half dozen people and it went really well. They were engaged (and a little outraged as you should be listening to this talk) I had a French Canadian helping me with the French last names which I appreciated it really

There weren't many talks today being the last day but I did sneak ELD into the dealer's room for a while and I was hijacked into the nerf dueling. It was fun. I was shot in the chest on the third shot. Alas. I did sneak out soon after because it was already after 1 and I needed lunch and I wanted one last round in the dealers room to buy a few last gifts for me and others. Did I need hand made over priced marshmallow? No but yes I bought them (I swear I'm going to learn to make these. It looks easy) And a witchy wooden tea light luminiere.

Spent some time talking to Leanna before going to the tea cup races. I went upstairs for a bit to drop off the junk and went back down for closing ceremonies and to pick up something from the auction (to help a LGBT/Diversity group) that I had won (well ELD wanted it. I'll drop it off to her in a few weeks when I use her as a waystop to KC) As far as I could tell...there were no closing ceremonies that anyone formally did and my friend PQ was wheeling his stuff out so I just went upstairs, tossed the garb upon which the clothes rack fell apart in the room. Whee.

I sat down and did the remains of my grading for the next three hours. I had to have it down by tomorrow (Turned out thanks to that Hack of Canvas a few days ago I had until Tuesday) Anyhow it's done and I'm free until August. I need the break such as it will be.

I was too tired to go out so I overpaid to Doordash Chinese (one of the highly recced ones but honestly it wasn't that fantastic). I picked the wrong dim sum but the ones I really wanted were basically snack size at entree prices. I found a dish I haven't had in ages. I was just telling ELD I have only seen Hong sue gai in two places well they had it. I can't fault the portion size and it was tasty so I'm happy enough.

Afterwards I wanted a swim myself. I get in. Let me tell you I have polar bear plunged in Wisconsin lakes warmer than this pool. No wonder the mermaids were sitting outside it. It was fucking freezing and I LOVE a cool pool. I turn and see a sign. No more than 5 people in the pool and NO swimming alone or you get 100$ fine. Well then. I splash back out and give up (not going to miss much I suppose)

Tomorrow I have a few things lined up and something for Tuesday morning (I drive home Tuesday)

It was a good con but small. Too small. I overheard the con runners talking about how unexpectedly small it was. Well they moved it from March to Mother's Day which in a survey they found people didn't like that timing But the real reason listed was the fucking gas prices. Shocker. I do hope they move the date again because I cannot be a repeat con goer on this weekend.

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