Our Brain On Tufte
Aug. 6th, 2025 09:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lb_leeBrain: x_x what will you do to nourish me?
Mori: organize magazines at the sci-fi library, of course! What could be more soul-nurturing than that?!
Brain: you’re right, absolutely nothing!
Mori: man, I can’t help but notice how racy these chainmail bikini babes are and how they’re all over the place, even in nonporny things, while the actual porn we buy these days is way, way tamer in their cover art. These old geeks get to have jiggling nipples everywhere while Rogan can barely buy gay porn comics with a shirtless guy on the cover.
Brain: Hmm... could we make a soul-nurturing activity out of this??? @_@
Mori: I want to go through our entire bookshelf for all the nudity and horny covers and then arrange them into real-life bar graphs charting them by year, content, and couplings.
Brain: HUZZAH! That’s the way to use me! I feel better already!
(And then we made photo graphs and photographs.)
Shark Off Of Halifax
Aug. 6th, 2025 09:39 amdewline posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
common_natureStill feeling awestruck at the sight of this. Apparently, some sharks do curiosity.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/close-encounter-with-great-white-shark-near-halifax-sparks-awe-disbelief-1.7600371
Pinch hits at Casefic Exchange!
Aug. 6th, 2025 07:00 pmcasemod posting in anime_mangacaseficexchange is looking for pinch hitters to fulfil requests that include anime and manga fandoms.About the event: Casefic Exchange is a fanwork exchange focusing on investigations. These can be solving murders, retrieving stolen items, finding missing people, missions, and mysteries. As long as it has an investigation as its core theme, it fits with the exchange. We are an AO3 exchange; you must have an account and be 18+ to participate.
Minimum requirements: We allow three mediums: a minimum of 3,000 words for fanfiction, a minimum of 10 panels for a comic, or a recording of a completed fic of 3,000 words minimum with "casefic" as one of its tags. Works must include a fandom, character/ship and be of a medium that the recipient has requested.
Event link:
caseficexchange.Pinch hit link: Current pinch hits.
Due date: Friday 22 August at 11:59pm EDT.
Available post-deadline pinch hits:
Thank you for considering!
hmm
Aug. 5th, 2025 05:58 pmkossaisee , kossai get sudden epiphany recently , and now have most of journal game actually write up and just about ready for test - but not sure how to do that because obviously know ins and outs of everything , as well as already have particular ideas and interpretations .
think maybe when done with this document , will upload on neocities and put link to that here on access list , then see if anyone want to read over or try out play . if that go well , would like to put on itch . ( and probably still mirror on neocities , just because mirror is good to have . )
probably thing which most unsure of is score system , and not entirely sure how to test that effectively without literally just roll dice and track different score spreads - in other words , not even really play game !
Bob’s Birthday Ice Cream
Aug. 4th, 2025 09:28 pmlb_leeToday, he was at the ice cream shop, and one of the specials was Xtabentun coffee ice cream with anise/honey liqueur. Coffee and booze: my favorite combination! (And wasted on these kids; Falcon is the only one in this place who appreciates a decent cup of coffee asides from me.)
I staked my birthday claim early. I got my ice cream. Oh, it was an experience to be savored, for sure! Best ice cream I’ve ever had... and their body can take it no problem.
Happy early birthday to me!
faerie gifts ~ assemblage of thoughts
Aug. 4th, 2025 01:09 pmkossaiYou mentioned something about not leaving haphazard gifts for fae, which obviously makes a lot of sense, though I was curious if there are any basic things to know about the dos and don't of offering gifts to fae? I imagine such things are a case by case basis and would depend on the fae in question and any number of other factors, but are there any things that are good to keep in mind when considering if a gift is more likely to be appreciated or offending?
answer :
hehehe , did hope someone would ask to elaborate on clothes thing - this sound like great reason ! ;D
somewhat long under cut , with thoughts on various kinds of objects - and some non-objects .
Overgrown Ruins
Aug. 4th, 2025 02:00 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
70s_sci_fi_ghost_feed
Science fiction has strong roots in early 1900s adventure pulp magazine stories, and a handful of story tropes reflect that.
Add a few extra limbs to the giant tiger attacking your explorers, and you're suddenly on Barsoom; Remove the spacesuit from that skeleton in your ancient temple, and you're back in the Hyborian Age.
Today we're taking a look through the retro science fiction illustrations related to one classic adventure trope, the overgrown ruins of a building or vessel long lost to the untamed alien jungle.
Wrecked spaceships are a popular area of focus, naturally. Here's a Henri Lievens illustration, done as a 1972 cover to a French translation of The Far-Out Worlds of A. E. van Vogt.
Tim White has this colorful 1974 spaceship, used as cover art for Monument, by Lloyd Biggle Jr.
Tony Roberts includes an actual ship on this cover to Samuel R. Delany's Babel-17, along with a spaceship giving it an exploratory fly-by.
I'd be remiss not to mention the classic Terran Trade Authority art collection, Spacewreck: Ghostships and Derelicts of Space, of course. Here's Fred Gambino's 1979 cover art, complete with lush vines and a one-eyed alien skeleton.
Most of the actual spacewrecks inside its cover aren't overgrown – many are in outer space, empty deserts, or blocks of ice that are also in space. This ancient alien missile battery by Bob Layzell is one exception.
Colin Hay has a beautiful two-page spread in the book, too. It's yet another example of Hay's penchant for showcasing sprawling structures above a tiny landscape at the very bottom of the frame, as readers of my Ocean Outposts issue may recall.
Reminds me of that last shot in The Fablemans.
Certain artists seem to really enjoy sci-fi ruins. Tony Roberts and Bob Layzell are among them, and Tim White's already making a repeat appearance with this building.
Bob Layzell's still at it, by the way: Here are a few casually photographed 2010s artworks from his Facebook page.
I'm not sure if that spherical spaceship on Paul Lehr's 1977 cover for The Embedding, by Ian Watson, is actually overgrown.
Tim White makes yet another appearance with his 1979 cover to Lord of the Spiders, by Michael Moorcock.
Mark Salwowski takes the overgrown ruins indoors with his 1987 cover to Brian W. Aldiss' Non-Stop.
Ron Walotsky did a similar cover for the same title two years later:
Vicente Segrelles' cover for the 1978 German translation of Armada of Antares, by Alan Burt Akers, offers a fascinating version of the overgrown city: Not only is it floating in mid-air, but only the right-hand island is overgrown.
One more overgrown Tim White for the road: His 1978 cover to Assignment in Eternity Vol 2, by Robert A. Heinlein. The out-of-focus grass at the bottom is a genius touch.
I love seeing modern buildings so fully overgrown that the viewer thinks it's just a part of nature at first.
My favorite all-timer example is this 1979 Dean Ellis cover art for Bander Snatch, by Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. – I actually had seen it a few times before I looked closely enough to make out the skyscrapers and lampposts.
The post-apocalyptic scene on the uncredited 1974 cover to D. Keith Mano's The Bridge is another great example.
Another uncredited post-apocalyptic cover here, this time for a 1987 edition of Andre Norton’s Star Man’s Son.
Okay, I thought I was done with Tim White illustrations, but I can't resist ending on this one, his 1976 cover for A Scent of New-Mown Hay, a sci-fi horror novel by John Blackburn featuring fungal zombies.
White loved overgrown sci-fi so much, even his human beings are overgrown!
Music rec: Here's a Cyberpunk Darksynth playlist I've been enjoying.
Next Time: Fish-People
come away ~ fun faerie game !
Aug. 3rd, 2025 12:45 pmkossaibut , kossai is kossai ! still design 3 player characters , but fill all 4 of these roles - no one else play in cofront , just alone right now to test things out .
and yeah , little bit of juggle between sheets , but really fun ! given short and sweet scope , single setting in 3 rounds , would say nothing like gemulator is necessary . there is only one adaptation which make so far - determine turn order by d6 per each character . this work out because kossai have 3 characters and 3 d6 , so could just roll all at once . highest number go first , lowest number go last . if anyone tie , just roll those dice again and pick next highest from that . :P
could probably fudge around some numbers and rules to actually adapt for 2 or even 1 player character , but think that might be less interest because part of fun is how characters can play off of each other's actions and have different specialties . wonder if adaptation for multiple visitor characters could work - should faeries band together to focus on just one mortal , or will each one go for different mortal ? would definitely need more than 3 rounds , and nerf attention damage , unless party was even bigger than 5 . and then at that point would have other adaptations to make , so pbffft .
oh , and yes , did successfully ensnare mortal in faerie realm :3
Somerville Yart Sale (Saturday, Aug. 9)
Aug. 3rd, 2025 11:45 amlb_leeIn better news, we're going to be a part of the Somerville YART Sale event with Joshua Porterfield! We'll have a table of art, zines, books, and FORBIDDEN OBJECTS in front of 68 Bonair At., Somerville, MA 02145.
Event Date: Saturday, August 9th, 12–6 PM (weather date Sunday, August 10th)
Event Map: https://somervilleartscouncil.org/yart-sale/yart/ (check out more people selling art as yard sales!)
More info anytime at: www.somervilleartscouncil.org/yart-sale
I have also updated my Events Page, which I just realized a lot of people may not know the existence of. (Didn't help that I myself neglected it a lot during the early years of COVID.)
Photos: Coles County Community Garden
Aug. 3rd, 2025 02:51 amysabetwordsmith posting in common_nature( Walk with me ... )
(no subject)
Aug. 2nd, 2025 04:11 pmambien_noisewall posting in common_nature
Agate Beach
Aug. 2nd, 2025 01:45 pmyourlibrarian posting in common_nature
Our next travel stop was the Newport area and our hotel at Agate Beach. There was some fog the day we arrived but the next day dawned completely clear, giving us great views of the nearby lighthouse.
( Read more... )
Wow, I hate this.
Aug. 1st, 2025 10:48 pmlb_leeThis is incredibly degrading. This might be more humiliating than getting shadowbanned from Gumroad for Cultiples, and that was pretty damn crummy.
I make mental health work about sexual trauma. It's bad for business to have "minors in a sexual context" as code for "child pornography" anywhere near me professionally, even if you ignore that this is, again, a memoir about how incest fucked me up. The whole point is that it's awful! Josie Riesman called it "one of the most brutal and engaging comics I’ve ever read." Tarun Athmika did a whole fucking paper on the politics of implication in (among other things) All in the Family, and how bans of discussion of oppression supports that oppression! Holy shit, he couldn't have been more prescient had he tried!
I've still heard nothing from itch.io. I ordered my payout a week ago and it's still "in review." I don't know if I'm going to get paid. The idea that I might get pedojacketed, AGAIN, for totally nonsense reasons is...
I don't know what it is.
This never used to happen to me until 2023, and now it's becoming normal to me. This is just life to me now. And I feel stupidly naive that it took this long to happen; it feels like it was always going to.
At least I can take comfort that the Banned Book Sale is going well. But god, I would've way rathered never throwing one.
2025 August Fan Poll
Aug. 1st, 2025 05:59 pmlb_leeHey everybody, it's that time again: time to vote for which stuff gets the LiberaPay/Patreon money this month!
As always, anyone can vote (please do!), but LiberaPay and Patreon patrons get double weight for their votes. (Due to Patreon's porn purges, I really encourage you to use LiberaPay, if you get a choice.) If you want to see the blurbs for any of these works, those are here! (You can also leave your requests there; requesting a story or essay is always free!) If you don't have a DW and so can't do the poll, that's okay; just leave your vote in the comments below; anon comments are turned on.
Which works gets the money, and thus posted this month? YOU CHOOSE, readers!
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 28
Did you toss LiberaPay/Patreon money my way last month?
What writing gets posted this month?
Infinity Smashed: Born Lucky
3 (10.7%)
Reverend Alpert: the Traveling Exorcist
3 (10.7%)
Henchwench for Hire (F/F supervillainy)
2 (7.1%)
Rutless (trans omegaverse porno)
2 (7.1%)
Flights of Reality (the Cursed City)
0 (0.0%)
Anatomy of a Dance (essay)
4 (14.3%)
The Boy Whose Heart Is Home (teen hardship)
5 (17.9%)
The Battleaxe and the Blood-Eater (pseudo Greco-Roman gladiators)
4 (14.3%)
LB Economics (essay)
8 (28.6%)
Cultiples #1 Afterword (essay made of AAAAAAH)
5 (17.9%)
Aphantasia and Headspace (essay)
13 (46.4%)
two apocalyptic micro-stories
1 (3.6%)
What art/comic/zine gets posted this month?
Cult Comix
5 (18.5%)
Death Watch
5 (18.5%)
How it Was, How It Is
8 (29.6%)
2012 hospital sketchbook
1 (3.7%)
2013 Homeless Year sketchbook
4 (14.8%)
2014 AllFam sketchbook
8 (29.6%)
Blushing and Scent (Mori/Rawlin fluff)
9 (33.3%)
2015 early Biff sketchbook
7 (25.9%)
multigender experiences
Aug. 1st, 2025 10:16 amkossaifeel like no matter how label , people try really really hard to control multigender sexualities , and refuse to understand why these would be hard to explain .
kossai is gay bigender man and woman , with exclusive attraction to men and forms of masculinity and manhood . that do not change even when woman , nor do word of choice change . continue to say gay because this womanhood inherently tie to manhood - still come from different place than what people know to be straight . not really much into label hunts , but like , yeah something like turigirl is probably not wrong .
but labels like turigirl and lesboy always under scrutiny , because of this idea that feminine genders must be wholly un-masculine to be real . to be both man and woman in any possible combination is effectively sacrilegious , and to use gender language at all is some kind of dirty invasion . that come right from transphobe playbook , so honestly not sure how this feel like right thing to do .
maybe someone else would be comfortable to be gayhet , but then still get attack on how that is " contradictory and ridiculous " . after all , total opposite or whatever . never mind any complexities , just , wrong outright and not worth consideration .
like 75% of queer label arguments just come from refusal to see multigender experiences as " real " experiences of any gender . this post is largely from man-woman perspective , given nonsense about how masculine genders taint and invalidate feminine genders , but honestly this is true for so many multigender experiences , and any labels that multigender people might use for description .
