cornerofmadness

The end of the conference, the beginning of vacation

Thu, 28 May 2026 04:06:40 GMT

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

comments

The workshops were...different

Wed, 27 May 2026 02:06:49 GMT

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 )

comments

I am full of gin and beef

Tue, 26 May 2026 02:48:04 GMT

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 )

comments

How is this so exhausting?

Mon, 25 May 2026 03:25:11 GMT

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

Sun, 24 May 2026 03:47:52 GMT

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..

comments

Please drive in the center of the lane

Sat, 23 May 2026 03:31:32 GMT

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

comments

It's a Jetta

Fri, 22 May 2026 03:30:30 GMT

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.

comments

It's so very rainy

Thu, 21 May 2026 03:32:32 GMT

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<

comments

The good news is

Wed, 20 May 2026 03:54:11 GMT

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 )

comments

I feel accomplished

Tue, 19 May 2026 03:56:07 GMT

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 )

comments

Writerly Ways

Mon, 18 May 2026 03:54:11 GMT

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

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My luck continues to hold

Sun, 17 May 2026 03:30:57 GMT

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?

Sat, 16 May 2026 02:07:24 GMT

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

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Geez my luck

Fri, 15 May 2026 03:31:58 GMT

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

Thu, 14 May 2026 04:00:10 GMT

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

Wed, 13 May 2026 03:30:26 GMT

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

Tue, 12 May 2026 04:17:19 GMT

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

Tue, 12 May 2026 03:55:28 GMT

Last Day

Mon, 11 May 2026 03:33:29 GMT

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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They liked me, they really liked me

Sun, 10 May 2026 03:57:50 GMT

I am SO glad I'm a ridiculous overplanner. I get down to the HG Wells room and the door is still locked 10 minutes before my talk. The guy gets there and says sorry about the table in middle of the room. Someone needed a computer projector for their talk.

I need a computer and projector.

He looks at me gobsmacked. They were supposed to put everyone who needed one in a different room. No worries. I take out my computer, my slideshow advancer, an extension cord AND that new projector I bought recently. I have this buddy. (and later in a different talk I went to someone sneaked in to steal that computer and projector)

My talk went well. What a joy lecturing to people who WANT to hear what I have to say!! They had questions. Someone popped in from outside to interject how Bayer were Nazis (Yes true but that's the wrong time period) They clapped. They told the event organizer how good I was and he hunted me down to tell me. So that's a success (hope tomorrow is too)

My friend Leanna Renee Hieber had like FOUR ghost talks today. I managed to get to three of them and I sat in on a Steampunk worldbuilding lecture. I missed part of it (I guess they had so many panels that some were at off times that overlapped) He was good and his art was cool and he had a 4 volume steampunk/fantasy graphic novel series that I bought based on this. Got another books from someone else as well. I did see an author I've bought from before but honestly I hadn't liked her book so I didn't go back over (It had interesting ideas but fell into that it needed beta readers who were more honest or an editor or something)

ELD and I went to the Queen of Sheba an ethiopian place I found on best food in Louisville and it was good, different. I haven't had Ethiopian food in like 30 years. We got a late start though so I didn't make it back in time for the bourbon tasting.

I did go to my friend PQ's flavors in brewing and learned some stuff and drank good beer (he makes a peanut butter/chocolate stout I really like and a toasted coconut dirty blond) From there I went to the Jazzy Jane's Addiction swing dance live band show. Danced a bit (not swing. those days are done).

Steampunk Xena fire princess did her fire dance. I love fire dancing. In my brain I think I can do this. I will set myself on fire and die. But in my head I can do this.

Went to the burlesque show which was...well not as planned. I figured I could use some of this for Ezio's story. Apparently they were told a different time and were up at Calamity Dawn's booze talk (I love her but I didn't go to her panels this time) it took a half hour to get them down and then half the troupe was sick and not even there and I'm like if you only had two ladies left, you should have just canceled and I WOULD have gone to Calamity's panel and then into the absinthe panel and ELD could have come up to drag me back to the room.

Pictures another day because I forgot the cord for the camera and my phone pictures are stuck there because it's being really janky on this hotel wi fi

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Day 1 Derby day

Sat, 09 May 2026 03:58:13 GMT

So I could have taken the morning to work on my grades. Instead I went to the Kentucky Derby museum. I never planned on that. I was going to do other museums, realized they were all art museums and then decided I could stand to learn some stuff. I thought it was a tad overpriced but it was fun. I liked that they also prioritized the early enslaved riders and the legacy of women within in the derby. I ended up with a keepsake glass after getting an old fashioned.

Ended up late to the opening ceremonies. I tried but it didnt' work out (I was in the building but the line to get my badge was longer than anticipated.)

It's a small vendor's room and I did get to meet up with friends. In the middle of this evil_little_dog arrived as well. I went down at 5 to the blood sirens mermaid talk. I've been interested in this for a while. I'm less interested now but strictly because I don't think I'd be able to do it. It's WAY more athletic than I imagined. And I had no idea there was a mermaid olympics. The guy giving the talk was the gold medal winner (he was a delight). I was no expecting having to basically be scuba trained, PADI (whatever that is) trained and being able to do that much under the water. I'm quite impressed and I want it to be something I revisit later.

I went to my talk. They forgot to put the room on the schedule. no one showed up. I left and just went out to the Irish Rover for dinner with ELD. I planned to go to the dance tonight. I was just too tired. Maybe tomorrow.

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I made it to Louisville

Fri, 08 May 2026 03:52:34 GMT

Uneventful drive luckily but got a late start thanks to the exam (which I have yet to finish posting for them) Just like that, the semester is over and graduation is in two days.

I will miss it so naturally we have a speaker I'd like to hear for once, the no-armed archer who won paraolympic gold. Our archery coach is also the coach for teh paraolypmpic team

I dragged so many bags into this old hotel it looks like I'm moving in. Cosplay takes up so much space.

Old style tv in here but I have Indiana Jones keeping me company. Can't complain.

Wish me luck on my reading tomorrow.

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I have found a new level of tired

Thu, 07 May 2026 03:58:30 GMT

I woke up from a bizarre dream and immediately ended up with a phone call from the dentist saying they're sending me to collection if I don't pay now. I call them up and said whoa, you sent this bill back to my insurance and that was the last I heard of it (until yesterday. I did see a bill from them) I thought it was taken care of. It wasn't so I paid that.

I argue with the hotel people in Louisville to add a day to my reservation. Yes I know you can't give me the block price. That's fine. Stop apologizing and just add a day at full price. It's fine. I'll live.

I ran to Jackson to get meds and money and to relax a little before coming home.

I get home, finish my test for tomorrow and then realize I forgot I had a meeting today to learn this new syllabus software in Ohio's latest political overreach push (everything about my class has to be online, every topic, every room I'm in, every school I've ever attended)

By the time that was over it was time to start on my wacky wild Victorian/Edwardian medicine power point. I finished it at 11 pm. It's 40 slides. That should be plenty. I wanted more than I need better too long than too short. (I've been in these before twice when it was too short and it's awkward and annoying)

Finally start to pack. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I still can't find my belt purse. NO clue where it is and I don't have time for this so suck it up and carry my tote bag with my little wallet and phone.

Tomorrow is going to be a nightmare between tests, finishing packing and driving nearly 4 hours at night.

Neighbors are watching Rocket.

So that dream. I was in some fancy all inclusive resort. It was very crowded. I had the vague feeling my family was with me. Also with me was my tenor sax and it's evening. I crack it out near the pool, shocked that the pads haven't dried out and fallen off. Suddenly I'm in the pool, wailing on this sax and people are into it. Water is splashing everywhere and people are telling me how great I am at this while I'm thinking I can't breathe, I havent' done this in years, I don't remember my fingering. Can I even still read music?

Someone claiming to be Frank Sinatra's kid (but didn't look older than me) wanted me to play for some party. I trot off and tell my brother about this. He is suitably impressed but then I get separated from everyone and I'm trying to find my room (in this high rise hotel). I'm in the elevator with escapees from a werewolf/vampire/goth movie and once I get to my floor it's chaos.

I don't know where to go ( cut because it gets gross )

What I Just Finished Reading:

Keeper of Lonely spirits - LGBT paranormal with older mains. - I liked this one

Death al Dente - crap

What I am Currently Reading:

The Death Card - is uncomfortably close to another series I've read with Afrocentric magic users (and the racist white ones getting in their way in New Orleans)

Dungeons and Danger - a paranormal mystery Vikings didn't have horned helmets for the love of god stop with the horns

What I Plan to Read Next:

Hooked on Murder - lousy so far

I'm too tired to share April's books. You'll get them next week.

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This day was 1 year long

Wed, 06 May 2026 03:54:29 GMT

The test took forever, gave it at 11 AM finished grading it at 11 pm

Had to pop into the dean/president farewell for summer party.

Had a 2 hour biology dept meeting that sucked my will to live and accomplished...I have no damn idea

Half assed the draft of my last test

graded and graded and cried and realized I still have no powerpoint for Saturday and tomorrow is my only day off where I still have one test to make, grade more shit and pack everything. I still don't know how I'm pulling this all off.

I got this 30 day meme for our favorite fandoms from [Bad username or unknown identity: kitarella_imagines> Honestly I figure I can do it every Tuesday and pick an older fandom based on some of the questions. <lj-cut text=]
Day 1: Favourite season

Day 2: Favourite episode

Day 3: Favourite female character

Day 4: Least favourite female character

Day 5: Favourite male character

Day 6: Least favourite male character

Day 7: Favourite friendship

Day 8: Favourite romance

Day 9: Least favourite season

Day 10: Least favourite episode

Day 11: Best SFX / most woeful use of SFX

Day 12: Favourite villain

Day 13: Favourite guest character

Day 14: Character you relate to the most

Day 15: Character who didn’t get enough screen time

Day 16: Best use of a hoary old trope

Day 17: Two characters you wanted to get together that never did

Day 18: Favourite Liberator moment (change for other shows-how about Favourite unlikely friendship?)

Day 19: Favourite Scorpio moment (change for other shows- how about Favourite rivalry?)

Day 20: Favourite outfits

Day 21: Favourite fanon/headcanon

Day 22: Favourite audioplay

Day 23: Favourite cliffhanger

Day 24: Funniest moment

Day 25: Moment when you knew you were caught

Day 26: Favourite fanfiction

Day 27: Favourite scene

Day 28: Favourite quote

Day 29: Your song/fan mix for the show

Day 30: Would you like to see a modern remake?

I'm going with the Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My newer fandoms, Prodigal Son, Hazbin and The Owl House are all too short really to count

So for fannish 50 here we go

Day 1: Favourite season - Season two and three are tied. they had the best stories. Spike hadn't become annoying yet. We didn't have Andrew stinking up the joint. The villains were engaging. Giles was still involved. We didn't have the eyerolling Dark Willow magic as addiction crap and the less said about how Buffy was treated in S7-8 the better. The Mayor, Spike/Dru/Angelus were amazing. The introduction of Faith (and the anger at how badly she was treated or at least how indifferent) really kept me watching.

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Tue, 05 May 2026 03:30:18 GMT

and three to go for the finals. I did get them both done but I can't count. thankfully I had time to do the answer key before I printed the test (I don't always) and I numbered it question 35 and the next one was 51. Well then. I swore I checked that last night but I didn't apparently. At least the micro test was numbered right (but found a repeated question I had to fix) and it was easy enough to fix the other.

I bought the current#1 of Star Trek Lower Decks comics and let me say this, the art is amazing. It looks just like an episode of the animated show AND it did call backs to the 1977 Star Trek animated series and the art was spot on. Kudos. Read the free comics for the Lego Batman (not nearly as funny as it wanted to be) and Stitch (just weird).

I got a lot of writing done during the test but forgot the names of the minor characters and just put XXXs in as place holders. Was thinking tonight I should have a list of these names I could just pull up instead of searching the document for it. And just realized I DID make one and forgot it.

I still haven't called the hotel to extend my stay. Still haven't made the powerpoint but if I'm honest I'm struggling to do that one my lap top. I need time on the big screens because (if I haven't mentioned it) when my right eye got all inflamed...it never got better. It no longer hurts but I also can't see well out of it.

It's music monday 30 weeks of music. This week's prompt is # 24 A song with a one word title. Share my friends, share

( There are so many from the 1980s )

here's the whole prompt list

( All under here )

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