2026.01.04
Jan. 4th, 2026 10:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lsandersonUS sees spike in flu cases in December, after most severe season since 2018
Not clear whether more people will get the flu this season, but more than 3,100 people have died in last year in US
Eric Berger
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/03/us-spike-influenza-december
‘Naked imperialism’: how Trump intervention in Venezuela is a return to form for the US
Most of the Americas have suffered from interference from their powerful northern neighbour – and are usually the worse off for it
Tiago Rogero South America correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/04/naked-imperialism-how-trump-intervention-in-venezuela-is-a-return-to-form-for-the-us
Trump’s attack on Venezuela without alerting Congress tests limits of executive power
Robert Tait in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/04/trump-congress-venezuela-attack
Canadian officials say US health institutions no longer dependable for accurate ( Read more... )
Not clear whether more people will get the flu this season, but more than 3,100 people have died in last year in US
Eric Berger
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/03/us-spike-influenza-december
‘Naked imperialism’: how Trump intervention in Venezuela is a return to form for the US
Most of the Americas have suffered from interference from their powerful northern neighbour – and are usually the worse off for it
Tiago Rogero South America correspondent
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/04/naked-imperialism-how-trump-intervention-in-venezuela-is-a-return-to-form-for-the-us
Trump’s attack on Venezuela without alerting Congress tests limits of executive power
Robert Tait in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/04/trump-congress-venezuela-attack
Canadian officials say US health institutions no longer dependable for accurate ( Read more... )
For Your Health
Jan. 4th, 2026 11:21 amspikedluvI have some health-related goals for 2026, which include walking more and eating better, and so I thought, what better way to start down that path than by reviving my health-related community, ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
for_your_health?!!
If you're already a member, please come back and join me!! If you'd like to become a member, please let me know.
for_your_health?!!If you're already a member, please come back and join me!! If you'd like to become a member, please let me know.
Сергей Шаргунов "Катаев" (ЖЗЛ)
Jan. 4th, 2026 06:11 pmvitaly_ilС удовольствием читаю книгу о Валентине Катаеве. Я много читал о Катаеве, плюс читал почти всю его прозу - от эпопеи (тетралогии?) про Петю и Гаврика в детстве до последних мовистских романов (сборник "Сухой лиман" у меня в домашней библиотеке, да и "Белеет парус одинокий" тоже).
И все же узнаю много интересного - и о биографии, и - неожиданно - стихи.
Например, 1944:
Ах, какие сугробы
За окном намело!
Стало в комнатах тихо,
И темно, и тепло.
Я люблю этот снежный,
Этот вечный покой,
Темноватый и нежный,
Голубой-голубой.
И стоит над сугробом
Под окном тишина…
Если так же за гробом –
Мне и смерть не страшна.
У Шаргунова я читал "1993" про события в Москве. Тоже понравилось. На мой взгляд, автор умеет "забывать" о своих политических взглядах когда пишет роман. Кстати, в книге о Катаеве взгляды местами "вылезают" - к либеральным критикам автор явно неравнодушен.
Recommendation: Love, Bertie
Jan. 4th, 2026 10:50 ampetraLove, Bertie (239772 words) by cucumbermoon
Chapters: 40/40
Fandom: Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves & Wooster (TV 1990)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Reginald Jeeves/Bertram "Bertie" Wooster
Characters: Reginald Jeeves, Bertram "Bertie" Wooster, Honoria Glossop, Dahlia Travers, Agatha Gregson, minor OCs, Florence Craye, Thomas Gregson (Jeeves), Mabel Biffen
Additional Tags: Epistolary, Letters, World War II, Period-Typical Homophobia, Bertie fought in WWII, Aunt Agatha is evil, Established Relationship, Angst with a Happy Ending, War, Minor Character Death, Non-Graphic Violence, Angst, Fluff and Angst, PTSD, Trauma
Summary:
*
This author has a deft grasp of Wodehousian pastiche, a keen eye for when it's time to add OCs, and a dashed lot of humor to put into a story whose premise seems bleak. I enjoyed the twists and turns of this epic tale no end.
Chapters: 40/40
Fandom: Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves & Wooster (TV 1990)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Reginald Jeeves/Bertram "Bertie" Wooster
Characters: Reginald Jeeves, Bertram "Bertie" Wooster, Honoria Glossop, Dahlia Travers, Agatha Gregson, minor OCs, Florence Craye, Thomas Gregson (Jeeves), Mabel Biffen
Additional Tags: Epistolary, Letters, World War II, Period-Typical Homophobia, Bertie fought in WWII, Aunt Agatha is evil, Established Relationship, Angst with a Happy Ending, War, Minor Character Death, Non-Graphic Violence, Angst, Fluff and Angst, PTSD, Trauma
Summary:
Separated by war, Bertie and Jeeves exchange letters.
*
This author has a deft grasp of Wodehousian pastiche, a keen eye for when it's time to add OCs, and a dashed lot of humor to put into a story whose premise seems bleak. I enjoyed the twists and turns of this epic tale no end.
Recent reading
Jan. 4th, 2026 02:29 pmregshoeThe last reading post of 2025—I'll discuss the traditional new year's Sutcliff shortly. :)
Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell (1851-61; collection edited and published 2000). A collection of Gaskell's shorter fiction, the actual degree of Gothicness varying considerably: some of the stories are proper supernatural horror ('The Old Nurse's Story' is especially memorably chilling); others are still horror but more mundane, and 'The Crooked Branch' in particular is just a sad story that wouldn't have been out of place alongside Gaskell's other domestic fiction in the 'Cousin Phyllis' collection that I read a while ago. I enjoyed them all, however—she's an author with range! Besides 'The Old Nurse's Story', ones especially worth mentioning are 'Lois the Witch', Gaskell's take on the notorious witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts; and 'The Grey Woman', which is an enjoyably femslashy adventure story.
The Cuckoo's Lea: The Forgotten History of Birds and Place by Michael J. Warren (2025). About birds and place, primarily through discussion of how and why birds appear in English place names and what that might tell us about how the medieval people who came up with those names thought about places and birds. This is also obviously relevant to modern conservation, as sadly many of the birds are no longer found in the places named after them ('crane' is apparently one of the birds most commonly appearing in place names; there are only a handful of them in Britain now). The title refers to Yaxley in Cambridgeshire, by the way, geac pronounced 'yak' being Anglo-Saxon for cuckoo. It's a very interesting subject and an interesting book, though I thought Warren was a little bit too poetic for my tastes, and especially too quick to go into poeticising 'what does this mean?' rather than solid intellectual curiosity about mysterious facts like mismatches between the distribution of birds in place names and the (likely historical) distribution of real birds. I enjoyed all the Anglo-Saxon bird poetry. Warren then lost all my sympathy and admiration in the epilogue, where he tries to talk about the deep personal meaning to him of having moved with his family from one place to another over a long distance with no acknowledgement of the fairly non-poetic reasons why that's something parents should not do to their children. Worth reading for the historical linguistics, but if you want a book by someone who understands why and how places matter, read Howards End.
Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell (1851-61; collection edited and published 2000). A collection of Gaskell's shorter fiction, the actual degree of Gothicness varying considerably: some of the stories are proper supernatural horror ('The Old Nurse's Story' is especially memorably chilling); others are still horror but more mundane, and 'The Crooked Branch' in particular is just a sad story that wouldn't have been out of place alongside Gaskell's other domestic fiction in the 'Cousin Phyllis' collection that I read a while ago. I enjoyed them all, however—she's an author with range! Besides 'The Old Nurse's Story', ones especially worth mentioning are 'Lois the Witch', Gaskell's take on the notorious witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts; and 'The Grey Woman', which is an enjoyably femslashy adventure story.
The Cuckoo's Lea: The Forgotten History of Birds and Place by Michael J. Warren (2025). About birds and place, primarily through discussion of how and why birds appear in English place names and what that might tell us about how the medieval people who came up with those names thought about places and birds. This is also obviously relevant to modern conservation, as sadly many of the birds are no longer found in the places named after them ('crane' is apparently one of the birds most commonly appearing in place names; there are only a handful of them in Britain now). The title refers to Yaxley in Cambridgeshire, by the way, geac pronounced 'yak' being Anglo-Saxon for cuckoo. It's a very interesting subject and an interesting book, though I thought Warren was a little bit too poetic for my tastes, and especially too quick to go into poeticising 'what does this mean?' rather than solid intellectual curiosity about mysterious facts like mismatches between the distribution of birds in place names and the (likely historical) distribution of real birds. I enjoyed all the Anglo-Saxon bird poetry. Warren then lost all my sympathy and admiration in the epilogue, where he tries to talk about the deep personal meaning to him of having moved with his family from one place to another over a long distance with no acknowledgement of the fairly non-poetic reasons why that's something parents should not do to their children. Worth reading for the historical linguistics, but if you want a book by someone who understands why and how places matter, read Howards End.
The Wicked + The Divine
Jan. 4th, 2026 02:38 pmalobearThe Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie is a graphic novel series where twelve gods are reincarnated every ninety years, enjoy two years of fame and then die. It's complicated and gory and confusing and clever. During the space of each of the nine volumes, I went through the same rollercoaster of reactions - intrigued, baffled, not sure if I'd continue, perhaps just about getting it, shocked by the next unexpected twist, reaching for the next one...
There was an awful lot of bait and switch, and I definitely didn't understand it all by the end, but I thought where it eventually ended up was pretty awesome.
There was an awful lot of bait and switch, and I definitely didn't understand it all by the end, but I thought where it eventually ended up was pretty awesome.
Юмор
Jan. 4th, 2026 05:24 pmmikerrrВ роскошных залах Эрмитажа мат восхищения не стихал
Если бросить петарду в салат оливье, то можно накормить всё живое в радиусе 5 метров…
Водитель автомобиля, выпил 150 грамм коньяка и на скорости 90 км/ч сбил фонарный столб. Вопрос: сколько надо выпить, чтобы сбить два фонарных столба?
Занимайся тем, что тебе нравится, и будешь вкалывать в два раза тяжелее за вдвое меньшую зарплату, ибо шеф использует твою увлеченность, чтобы тебя поиметь, и ты начнёшь ненавидеть то, что тебе так нравилось.
- Что будет с нынешней молодежью?
- Как что? Состарится и будет говорить: "Что будет с нынешней молодежью?"
Если бросить петарду в салат оливье, то можно накормить всё живое в радиусе 5 метров…
Водитель автомобиля, выпил 150 грамм коньяка и на скорости 90 км/ч сбил фонарный столб. Вопрос: сколько надо выпить, чтобы сбить два фонарных столба?
Занимайся тем, что тебе нравится, и будешь вкалывать в два раза тяжелее за вдвое меньшую зарплату, ибо шеф использует твою увлеченность, чтобы тебя поиметь, и ты начнёшь ненавидеть то, что тебе так нравилось.
- Что будет с нынешней молодежью?
- Как что? Состарится и будет говорить: "Что будет с нынешней молодежью?"
Et in Arcadia ego
Jan. 4th, 2026 09:13 amtroisoiseauxRead Tom Stoppard's Arcadia, which I've always vaguely intended to get around to reading and finally decided it was time, for obvious reasons, at the end of November, although clearly other people had the same idea, so it was on hold until now. Split between the early 1800s and the "present day" (circa 1993) at the same Derbyshire country manor, it's all tennis-volley wit and sly double meanings and then the narrative pieces start to click together and I was like, ah, this is a play about the way the past can be reconstructed, or misconstrued, from its surviving details - ( ... ) - and it is about that, but also, ultimately, it is an extremely compelling play about math. I love Stoppard's stage directions, which have such an eye for detail, sometimes ones that the audience won't even see (e.g., describing the inside of a book that there's really no practical way for an audience to see), and/or somehow both specific and open-ended that it's evocative of a given vibe that, as a reader, I can picture so clearly—
Gus doesn't speak. He never speaks. Perhaps he cannot speak. He has no composure, and faced with a stranger, he caves in and leaves again. A moment later the other door opens again and Valentine crosses the room, not exactly ignoring Bernard and yet ignoring him.
The Day in Spikedluv (Saturday, Jan 3)
Jan. 4th, 2026 08:57 amspikedluvI did not go downtown today. Instead I went back to bed after Pip left and I got the dogs in, and slept until almost 8:30am! o_O That’s pretty late for me.
I did two loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, emptied the dishwasher, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. We had leftover pulled pork for supper. We also finished the spinach dip. I’m glad I made it again to assuage my feelings of really missing it, but I don’t think I’ll make it again because of the garlic. I can only think that my sensitivity to garlic has increased as I got older. *sad face*
I tried the Christmas Spice tea today. I was curious about it, so I looked it up. The wonderful natural flavors of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and orange are blended with a rich, black tea to create a delicious holiday tea. I figured there’d be cinnamon, but I wasn’t sure what else. It’s pretty good.
I added ~900 words to mysmallfandomfest fic!! I finished one of my books and read some fanfic. I watched an HGTV program and more Secrets of the Zoo.
I have been remiss in thanking two more people for their Christmas cards.pattrose and turps, thank you so much!!
Temps started out at 18.3(F) and reached 30.9. There was some wind again today, which made walking unpleasant, but also some sun, to give you false hope. *g*
Mom Update:
Mom sounded okay when I spoke to her. Sister A visited, and my brother called to say he’d be out to visit tomorrow (now today, Sunday). She didn’t throw up anything, but food sat heavy in her stomach today, which made her feel off. I should know better than to think that healing is a straight line, but I had hoped she’d continue showing improvements without back-sliding.
I did two loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, emptied the dishwasher, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. We had leftover pulled pork for supper. We also finished the spinach dip. I’m glad I made it again to assuage my feelings of really missing it, but I don’t think I’ll make it again because of the garlic. I can only think that my sensitivity to garlic has increased as I got older. *sad face*
I tried the Christmas Spice tea today. I was curious about it, so I looked it up. The wonderful natural flavors of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and orange are blended with a rich, black tea to create a delicious holiday tea. I figured there’d be cinnamon, but I wasn’t sure what else. It’s pretty good.
I added ~900 words to my
smallfandomfest fic!! I finished one of my books and read some fanfic. I watched an HGTV program and more Secrets of the Zoo.I have been remiss in thanking two more people for their Christmas cards.
pattrose and turps, thank you so much!!Temps started out at 18.3(F) and reached 30.9. There was some wind again today, which made walking unpleasant, but also some sun, to give you false hope. *g*
Mom Update:
Mom sounded okay when I spoke to her. Sister A visited, and my brother called to say he’d be out to visit tomorrow (now today, Sunday). She didn’t throw up anything, but food sat heavy in her stomach today, which made her feel off. I should know better than to think that healing is a straight line, but I had hoped she’d continue showing improvements without back-sliding.
Twilight Swimming
Jan. 4th, 2026 08:46 amfrith posting in ponyville_trot
Source: https://tantabus.ai/images/36960
Pastiche machine generator: Zoinksnoob. Prompter: Marestare.
Typical sweeping panorama, horse looking at something she likes. The water and reflections are nice. Horse is solo, in these EZ Bake pastiches the horse is usually solo. I wonder if the reflections of the mountains were touched up, they nearly match as mirror reflections. The water depth where Twilight is swimming has an Escher distortion going on, it is both up to her chin and up to her belly at the same time. Only her front hooves are under water, her front legs are clearly not submerged. I did not notice that at nearly one in the morning when I was trying to clear all my tabs and go to bed. It's clearly an arche-typical EZ Bake pastiche. I was swayed by the setting and the reflections of the mountains. Still better than a sultry pin up pony posing in a French maid uniform.
2026 TRIUMPHANT RETURN COMICS: MAN/WOMAN AND CAT/BIRD LOVE
Jan. 4th, 2026 12:21 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
joshreadscomics_feedComics Curmudgeon readers! Do you love this blog and yearn for a novel written by its creator? Well, good news: Josh Fruhlinger's The Enthusiast is that novel! It's even about newspaper comic strips, partly. Check it out!
Mary Worth, 12/25/25
Why hello, faithful readers! Did you have an enjoyable holiday? Did you spend Christmas Day with your “friends,” or exactly one friend, your ostensible “boyfriend,” and the two of you took the time to contemplate the glory and majesty of your Christmas tree while simultaneously side-hugging each other?
Rex Morgan, M.D., 12/26/25
Or did you spend it like Rex, eagerly awaiting the moment (12:01 a.m., December 26th) when you could definitively put all the decorative holiday crap directly into the trash and get things back to normal?
Dick Tracy, 12/27/25
Anyway, lots of fun stuff happened in the comics over the past week and a half! Like, remember Ghost Cat, the cat with the powers of a ghost, or possibly the ghost with the powers of a cat? Well, he can shoot a flashlight beam out of his chest, which is definitely not a cat ability but I’m also pretty sure not a ghost ability, so I guess it’s a secret third thing.
Gil Thorp, 12/27/25
In other news, Gil Thorp got engaged! Congrats to Gil on going from “extremely divorced” to “engaged to his significantly younger rebound girlfriend,” which, between you and me, is just another more specific kind of extremely divorced.
Rex Morgan, M.D., 12/29/25
Oh, also, Rex Morgan is going blind or whatever. This is what happens when you take down the Christmas decorations too early! Santa takes away your eyesight! They don’t have any little Christmas carols about that one specifically, but it’s true, that’s one of his powers, he will make you blind, so you better watch out.
Mark Trail, 12/30/25
Mark Trail is wearing a union suit dealing with some Texas flooding (ripped from the headlines of six months ago) while accompanying an expedition of ladies hunting feral hogs (ripped from a 2019 viral tweet). This gives one of the ladies the opportunity to say “Oh no! All our hogs washed away!” which I think is funny! I just think it’s a fun thing to say!
Gil Thorp, 1/2/26
“I have several, father … any plans to have more children?” is also a fun one! I guess my only problem with it is that it really is just one more question, though maybe Jami is waiting for the hubbub he’s unleashed to die down before moving on to the next subject.
Mary Worth, 12/30/25 and 1/4/26
Meanwhile, over in the wildly dysfunctional Cameron household, Ian decided to deploy a neighbor’s cat … for evil! But unlike Mary, who managed to use a cat to successfully keep Jeff out of her apartment for weeks, Ian was foiled in his evil plotting, discovering that both these creatures have been infected by the woke mind virus of domestication and have decided to become best friends rather than trying to kill one another. Look forward to more of this action in the coming days, unless Ian dies abruptly of a rage-stroke!
Rex Morgan, M.D., 1/4/26
In other medical news, Rex has cataracts, it turns out, and he has to go under someone else’s knife in order to be rid of them. He’s just going to have to let go and trust his surgeon — but should he, really? Are ophthalmologists even real doctors? Should he do it himself, maybe? Could he pull it off, because of what a great doctor he is?
You’ll find out the answers to all these questions and more in 2026! It’s a new year but the same Comics Curmudgeon, which is to say the world’s great internet blog, bringing you comics jokes every day. Thank you as ever for your readership, which you are required by law and prevailing honor codes to maintain. Happy New Year, everybody!
fun (for me)
Jan. 4th, 2026 08:02 amlauradi7dwI was waiting for a Green line train at Park Street station yesterday, watching a person try to move his assembled many many plastic bags of random stuff from one side of the track to the other, while pushing his (non-motorized) scooter as well. Some of the bags had been hung from the handles and one fell onto the floor. I picked it up and handed to him. I noticed that the exam-style mask he was wearing (commonly referred to as baggy blue in the more hardcore masking community) was so old that it was nearly worn through. I happened to have a fresh one with me, even though that's not the sort I usually wear. I offered it to him and he immediately changed. Maybe his face/head are just the right shape, because it fit pretty well, no nose-over problems. Very gratifying. After the encounter I went back to standing around waiting, and almost absent-mindedly got out my little bottle of hand sanitizer. Another person waiting laughed - she had been on her way over to offer me *her* little bottle of sanitizer. I don't think his plastic bags were any more germy than the handrail on the steps (which I hold onto) but there we were, a little outpost of folks trying to stay well, along with a family of three nearby in N95s.
Hat Man
Jan. 4th, 2026 01:31 pmryjii_kotУ всех в детстве были кошмары. У меня было два: огромная обезьяна, которая живет под кроватью и хватает за ноги когда встаешь с кровати. И второй это черная фигура мужика в плаще и шляпе, которая стоит в дверном проеме и смотрит на тебя. И вот вчера я узнала, что этого мужика называют Hat Man и его видело огромное количество народа. Некоторые его описывают со светящимися белыми или красными глазами. Я глаз не видела, просто черный силует, который смотрит на тебя.
Узнала случайно, наткнулась на видео в котором чувак рассказывал о Hat Man. Видео я недосмотрела, после его слов: "Ребята, я щас обосрусь от страха, какого хрена я решил записывать видео о Hat Man поздно вечером, находясь один дома?", я подумала что досматривать видео поздно вечером перед сном все же, наверно, не стоит. Да и вообще я не люблю ужастики, я их не смотрю. Но мне нравится смотреть о том как снимаются ужастики, создание костюмов, грима, локаций. И люблю истории о реальных событиях, которые легли в основу ужастиков.
Кто-то еще видел Hat Man?
Узнала случайно, наткнулась на видео в котором чувак рассказывал о Hat Man. Видео я недосмотрела, после его слов: "Ребята, я щас обосрусь от страха, какого хрена я решил записывать видео о Hat Man поздно вечером, находясь один дома?", я подумала что досматривать видео поздно вечером перед сном все же, наверно, не стоит. Да и вообще я не люблю ужастики, я их не смотрю. Но мне нравится смотреть о том как снимаются ужастики, создание костюмов, грима, локаций. И люблю истории о реальных событиях, которые легли в основу ужастиков.
Кто-то еще видел Hat Man?
Some Puzzle-y Games I Have Played Lately
Jan. 4th, 2026 08:39 pmalias_sqbrSpirit City Lofi Sessions is a productivity game but I'm including it anyway :P
Actual puzzle games: Strange Antiquities, Mega Mosaic, Botany Manor, Logiart Grimoire, The Roottrees are Dead
( Read more... )
Actual puzzle games: Strange Antiquities, Mega Mosaic, Botany Manor, Logiart Grimoire, The Roottrees are Dead
( Read more... )