estirose | Reading

Maura Healey on state agreements with ICE: “I support them” (via the_mass_dump_feed):

At her January press conference, Healey said she was “prohibiting state agencies from entering into any new 287(g) agreements unless there is a clear and imminent public safety need.” But that part of her executive order contains so many caveats as to be completely meaningless. By only prohibiting new agreements, Healey is keeping the existing one.

“I actually support that agreement,” she said. “When you’re incarcerated under … the custody of the Department of Correction, that means you’ve done something pretty bad.”

The whole post is worth reading. It's a complex situation for activists to respond to because the current situation is an improvement over the pre executive order status quo, and the activist groups need to encourage the governor to do more. And yet also, what an absolute trash human.

All my reactions to "when you’re incarcerated under the custody of the Department of Correction, that means you’ve done something pretty bad" (eg. "no it doesn't oh my god" and "as a society we've agree upon a term of incarceration for certain crimes and when that term of incarceration is over we consider the person to have paid their debt to society" and "the DOC operates multiple minimum security facilities where people work in town and there aren't even walls" and "this is what happens when your governor was the attorney general" and "I guess that's why you don't care about the deaths of Ayesha Johnson and Shacoby Kenny who were only in the county jail" and "ugh the worst east Arlington lesbian is the worst") but mostly my reaction is just flames on the side of my face and also I know you all can say it better than I can.

So, you know. If I were a good person I'd get involved in the fuckery of the Massachusetts Democratic Party but I ain't got the juice. (Tarik Samman is running against Katherine Clark, at least.)

Anyway, support BIJAN, Maura Healey sucks.

jadelennox

one of my more annoying traits is that if I wouldn't like something that I know other people enjoy, I find it very difficult to do for the person who'd enjoy it because it feels rude to me. I wouldn't like it, after all, so why should I do it to someone else?

I know is this is messed up, especially because I often dislike being asked about my day, or being thanked, or receiving presents, or receiving any but very specific forms of recognition. (The Mortifying Agony of Being Seen is a real bugger.)

Apropos of nothing, james makes absolutely gorgeous crafts.

Current Mood: thankful

girlgenius_main_feed

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20260216

The Girl Genius comic for Monday, February 16, 2026 has been posted.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20260216

minoanmiss posting in

agonyaunt

Dear Care and Feeding, ( Read more... )

jazzyjj posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!

Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

stonepicnicking_okapi posting in

1word1day

ergotism [ur-guh-tiz-uhm]

noun

a condition caused by eating rye or some other grain that is infected with ergot fungus or by taking an overdose of a medicine containing ergot, characterized by cramps, spasms, and a form of gangrene. Also called: Saint Anthony's fire.

examples

1. Looking at depictions of St. Anthony in the paintings of Renaissance masters, the influence of the disease of ergotism on the history of art starts to become clear. "How Renaissance Painting Smoldered with a Little Known Hallucinogen." Forrest Muelrath. 15 Sept 2017

2. Experts now know that those symptoms are common among people with convulsive ergotism, or ergot poisoning, which is caused by a fungus that can grow on wheat, rye, and other similar grains. Sarah Klein, Health.com, 2 Oct 2017

origins
borrowed from French ergotisme, from ergot ergot + -isme -ism

ergot comes from "spur on a rooster, a similar growth on another bird or mammal, fungal sclerotium resembling a rooster's spur," earlier also argot, going back to Old French argoz (subject case) "spur of a bird or animal," derivative from a Gallo-Romance base *arg- "spine, spiny or thorny plant," probably from a pre-Latin substratal language

Jan Mandijn, “The Temptation of Saint Anthony” (circa 1550)
The Temptation of St. Anthony

flowing_river posting in

yuletide

Event: Traumatic Experiences
Event Link:

traumaticexperiences
Pinch Hit Link: Current Pinch Hit Post
Due Date: March 1st at 8PM PST

traumaticexperiences is a (psychological) trauma themed multifandom exchange. We have 1 returning pinch hit and 7 previously unclaimed pinch hits! You must write a fanfiction that is a minimum of 1000 words and include a requested fandom, relationship or solo character, and freeform in your fill. The collection will not reveal until everyone who requested 3 unique fandoms has received a gift that meets the minimum assignment requirements.

Assignment Requirements

PH 2 - Dredge (Video Game), Trigun (Anime & Manga 1995-2008), 間の楔 | Ai no Kusabi (Anime)

PH 6 - Given (Anime), 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen (Anime), Wind Breaker (Anime), Outlast (Video Games)

PH 7 - Four Assassins (2011), RoboCop (Movies 1987-1993), Half-Life (Video Games), Crossing Jordan (TV 2001)

PH 8 - The Defenders (Marvel TV), Charmed (TV 1998)

PH 17 - NoPixel (Web Series), 仙王的日常生活 | The Daily Life of the Immortal King (Cartoon), 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs, Undertale (Video Game)

PH 18 - 你却爱着一个傻逼 - 水千丞 | In Love with an Idiot - Shui Qian Cheng, 火焰戎装 - 水千丞 | Huǒ Yàn Róng Zhuāng - Shuǐ Qiān Chéng, 职业替身 - 水千丞 | Professional Body Double - Shuǐ Qiān Chéng, 小白杨 - 水千丞 | My Little Poplar - Shuǐ Qiān Chéng, 时光代理人 | Link Click (Cartoon), 老婆孩子热炕头 - 水千丞 | Lǎo Pó Hái Zi Rè Kàng Tou - Shuǐ Qiān Chéng, 附加遗产 - 水千丞 | Fù Jiā Yí Chǎn - Shuǐ Qiān Chéng, 人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù, 谁把谁当真 - 水千丞 | Shéi Bǎ Shéi Dàng Zhēn - Shuǐ Qiān Chéng, Crossover Fandom

PH 19 - Winx Club, My Little Pony Generation 4: Equestria Girls (Cartoon 2013), My Little Pony Generation 4: Friendship Is Magic (Cartoon 2010), SK8 the Infinity (Anime)

PH 20 - Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Firewall (Book)

For more details/to claim, view the pinch hit post.

sallymn posting in

1word1day

arcana [ahr-key-nuh]

noun:
mysterious or specialized knowledge, language, or information accessible or possessed only by the initiate

Examples:

What became clear is that even publishers, agents, and retailers, who’ve rightly been focused on signing writers and selling books, didn’t appreciate how much the arcana of the business would matter in the move to digital platforms. (Tim Carmody, Why Metadata Matters for the Future of E-Books, WIRED, August 2010)

His novels move with kinetic energy, his plots are intricate puzzles shrouded in religious iconography, ancient cryptography and other obscure arcana. (Marc Weingarten, 'The Da Vinci Code' stunned the world. Now Dan Brown releases his most ambitious book yet, Los Angeles Times, September 2025)

And beyond all else he glimpsed an infinite gulf of sheer darkness, where solid and semi-solid forms were known only by their windy stirrings, and cloudy patterns of force seemed to superimpose order on chaos and hold forth a key to all the paradoxes and arcana of the worlds we know. (H P Lovecraft, 'The Haunter of the Dark')

We are the subjects, and so is everything around us, of all manner of subtle and inexplicable influences: and if our ancestors attached too much importance to these ill-understood arcana of the night-side of nature, we have attached too little. (Catherine Crowe, The Night Side of Nature)

"Under the impression," said Mr Micawber, "that your peregrinations in this metropolis have not as yet been extensive, and that you might have some difficulty in penetrating the arcana of the Modern Babylon in the direction of the City Road, - in short," said Mr Micawber, in another burst of confidence, "that you might lose yourself - I shall be happy to call this evening, and install you in the knowledge of the nearest way." (Charles Dickens, David Copperfield)

Indeed, it is to be feared that some of the more rustic and bashful youths of Devil's Ford, who had felt it incumbent upon them to pay their respects to the new-comers, were more at ease in this vestibule than in the arcana beyond, whose glories they could see through the open door. (Bret Harte, Devil's Ford)

Origin:
'hidden things, mysteries,' 1590s, a direct adoption of the Latin plural of arcanum 'a secret, a mystery,' an important word in alchemy, from neuter of adjective arcanus 'secret, hidden, private, concealed' (see arcane). It was occasionally mistaken for a singular and pluralized as arcanas, because arcana is far more common than arcanum. (Online Etymology Dictionary)

jazzyjj posting in

awesomeers

brightknightie

I thought that you might want to know about these developments, too:

A few weeks ago, I saw an article discussing how mass-market paperbacks are on their way out, that the last large publishers/printers of them in English will soon cease production of that cheaper "pocket size" book format that has dominated my lifetime. That market has apparently fallen to a combination of e-book readers and non-readers. Also, grocery stores and drugstores and other such grab-and-go places for which mass-market paperbacks were made don't give books as much shelf space as they used to, as you may have seen first-hand. The future of new books is trade paperbacks and hardbacks, apparently, though I imagine used books will circulate as long as the pages cling to their glued bindings. Anything and everything that puts books out of reach for anyone, yet especially the young and the poor, is tragic. (Subscriber gift link to take you, and anyone you share it with, through the paywall for free: "So Long to Cheap Books You Could Fit in Your Pocket" by Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times, February 6, 20026.)

Yesterday (Valentine's Day, no less), I saw an article reporting that Harlequin/Mills & Boon, the romance publisher powerhouse, will discontinue its historical romance line entirely in English, after having previously pared all historical eras down to just Regency and Victorian. (Medieval, Old West, US Revolution, and many more were all actively published at various times.) I'm not a big romance reader and I don't buy new Harlequin, but... it's always been there. I've read it from time to time from the library, and bought used from library sell-offs or bins outside bookshops, and while too many of the ones I've read were at best ephemeral candy, and a few were absolute wrecks, an equal few were genuinely good or clever or inspiring and have stayed in my imagination. I am a big reader of historical fiction... I can't feel good about history being a fading interest. (This site allows 3 monthly freebie views: "Harlequin to Discontinue Historical Romance Line" by Sam Spratford, Publishers Weekly, February 13, 2026.)

otw_news_feed

Posted by Elintiriel

https://www.transformativeworks.org/its-international-fanworks-day-2026/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=279491

For anyone who’s missed our earlier posts, you can find all of our activities for this year’s International Fanworks Day in our “What We’re Doing For #IFD2026” post.

The OTW’s chatrooms and games session is a 30-hour party that lasts from February 14th, 21:00 UTC until February 16th, 03:00 UTC. The game times listed below are all in UTC, but you can click the links to find out how that converts to your own timezone.

The games will be hosted on our dedicated Discord server and moderated by OTW volunteers throughout the day. Every two hours you will be able to participate in a different fandom-themed game! The timetable and game descriptions are posted below; join us on Discord for the games you’d like to play!

NOTE: The games will be played and moderated in English.

Games Schedule:

February 14th

21:00 – 20 Questions (What time is that for me?)
23:00 – Storytime (What time is that for me?)

February 15th

01:00 – List Builder (What time is that for me?)
03:00 – Poetry Round Robin (What time is that for me?)
05:00 – 20 Questions (What time is that for me?)
07:00 – 5 Things (What time is that for me?)
09:00 – 2 Truths and a Lie (What time is that for me?)
11:00 – Lyrics Round Robin (What time is that for me?)
13:00 – List Builder (What time is that for me?)
15:00 – Storytime (What time is that for me?)
17:00 – 20 Questions (What time is that for me?)
19:00 – 2 Truths and a Lie (What time is that for me?)
21:00 – OTW Trivia (What time is that for me?)
23:00 – Poetry Round Robin (What time is that for me?)

February 16th

01:00 – 5 Things (What time is that for me?)

Game Guidelines

5 Things

How to Play: During this game, the host will name a topic and players in the room will call out examples from their favorite fandoms. This will repeat for at least 5 rounds. Be prepared to explain why your answer counts (maybe you’ll recruit someone new to your fandom!)

20 Questions

How to Play: During this game, the host will think of a person, place, or object. Players have exactly 20 yes-or-no questions they can ask the host to determine what the correct answer is.

Storytime

How to Play: The host will paste a starting sentence into the chat. Players take turns coming up with the next sentence–the host calling out whose turn it is–until everyone has gone once, and the story is complete!

List Builder

How to Play: List Builder is a collaborative game in which players work together to come up with a list of fandom characters or items belonging to a particular genre, starting with consecutive letters of the alphabet. Start at A and work your way through to Z (you can be as flexible as required on the difficult letters!)

Lyrics Round Robin

How to Play: During this game, we’ll collectively write FANDOM lyrics to replace those of a familiar song. The host will choose the song and type out an alternate first two lines. Then those in the room will write the next lines until the song is finished.

Poetry Round Robin

How to Play: During this game, we’ll collectively write FANDOM poetry! The host posts a poem as an example of a specific poetic form (like sonnet, haiku, etc.), as well as a title. The players then write one (or more) original poems of that form together, one line at a time.

OTW Trivia

How to Play: Like most trivia games, the host will ask a question and the first person to answer correctly wins that round. Because we’re online and you’re free to do searches we’re going to add another factor, which is time — you must answer within 2 minutes. But you can call out your answer as soon as you think you know. If you’re the first to have the correct answer, the host will type your name and award you a point. At the end of the game, whoever has gotten the most points will be named the winner!

Two Truths and a Lie

How to Play: The host will paste into the chat 3 statements. Because we’re online and you’re free to do searches we’re going to add another factor, which is time — you must answer within 30 seconds after the third statement!

We also want to hear from you about other celebrations taking place today. Leave us a comment here to tell us about what your fandom communities are doing!

https://www.transformativeworks.org/its-international-fanworks-day-2026/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=279491

calzephyr posting in

1word1day

Dum

In this usage, dum or dum pukht (and also known as larhmeen or dampokhtak) is a slow-cooking method popular in South Asian cultures. You may have seen dum biryani on a restaurant and not thought twice about what it means. Well, here you go!

The dum is actually the dough seal between the lid and the pot used to make the dish. This prevents steam from escaping, allowing the food to cook in its own moisture. The dish, such as pulao or biryani, is usually cooked over low heat in a brass or clay pot.

Dum means "to keep food on slow fire or steam" and pukht means "process of cooking".

brightknightie

I finished watching Wonder Man on Disney+ last night (8 episodes, ~30 minutes each). I enjoyed it and I recommend it to general viewers. I think it's very good television. Kudos all around to the creators. I was never fully sure how to think of it until the final episode; the final episode now makes me want to watch it over again with that surety of the thematic and structural lens in place.

It's a thoughtful, self-contained, character-driven, "street level" story of unlikely friendship and self-discovery between two actors, one at the beginning of his career and the other at the end. But, as you know, that makes it also unique, different, unlike what the presumed audience has been taught to expect. This is a clever slow burn, neither an action-adventure nor a sitcom, but a rich blend of tragedy and comedy in the classic senses. And I suspect that's exactly why the executives decided to keep it on the shelf for two years after it was completed, slap the "Marvel Spotlight" label on it, and dump out the entire series on one day instead of releasing one episode per week for buzz to grow. They didn't know what they had because it doesn't look a lot like anything they've had before.

You don't have to know any MCU canon to enjoy this show (though of course knowledge yields fun side connections). And I don't know whether this show will contribute to any MCU canon going forward (though it most certainly could). It can stand on its own two feet as a complete and satisfying story, exactly as it should.

(BTW, for those of us who know the comics canon: almost nothing about comics!Simon carries through here except the names of his family members, the tone of his relationships and outlook, and of course his profession and powers, and that's FINE. I say this as the biggest Scarlet Witch fan you know. ~grin~)

nanila posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

xandromedovna posting in

fic_rush

Alright gang, looks like Fic_Rush 158 will be next weekend, 20-22 February! I'm not available for the beginning of the Round, so someone else will need to start the Rush. Mods, please confirm your availability for any of our lovely anchor Hours, or general flitting about, and now's a great time to join the Mod Squad if you're interested!

	GMT	EST (Toronto)	CST (Chicago)	PST (Seattle)	CET (Berlin)	AEST (Brisbane)	Designated Mod
Hour -23	midnight	7pm Thu	6pm Thu	4pm Thu	1am Fri	10am Fri
Hour -17	6am Fri	1am Fri	midnight	10pm Thu	7am Fri	4pm Fri	lilly_c
Hour -11	12pm Fri	7am Fri	6am Fri	4am Fri	1pm Fri	10pm Fri
Hour -5	6pm Fri	1pm Fri	12pm Fri	10am Fri	7pm Fri	4am Sat
Hour 0	11pm Fri	6pm Fri	5pm Fri	3pm Fri	midnight	9am Sat	lilly_c
Hour 1	midnight	7pm Fri	6pm Fri	4pm Fri	1am Sat	10am Sat
Hour 6	5am Sat	midnight	11pm Fri	9pm Fri	6am Sat	3pm Sat
Hour 12	11am Sat	6am Sat	5am Sat	3am Sat	12pm Sat	9pm Sat
Hour 18	5pm Sat	12pm Sat	11am Sat	9am Sat	6pm Sat	3am Sun	lilly_c
Hour 24	11pm Sat	6pm Sat	5pm Sat	3pm Sat	midnight	9am Sun
Hour 30	5am Sun	midnight	11pm Sat	9pm Sat	6am Sun	3pm Sun
Hour 36	11am Sun	6am Sun	5am Sun	3am Sun	12pm Sun	9pm Sun
Hour 42	5pm Sun	12pm Sun	11am Sun	9am Sun	6pm Sun	3am Mon	lilly_c
Hour 47	10pm Sun	5pm Sun	4pm Sun	2pm Sun	11pm Sun	8am Mon	xandromedovna
Hour 48	11pm Sun	6pm Sun	5pm Sun	3pm Sun	midnight	9am Mon	xandromedovna
Round Ends	midnight	7pm Sun	6pm Sun	4pm Sun	1am Mon	10am Mon	xandromedovna

nanila posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

girlgenius_main_feed

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20260213

The Girl Genius comic for Friday, February 13, 2026 has been posted.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20260213

nanila posting in

awesomeers

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!

thisbluespirit

Still catching up on crossposting some

rainbowfic:

Name: Sweet Interlude
Story: Starfall
Colors: Vert #11 (Marriage)
Supplies and Styles: Silhouette
Word Count: 2343
Rating: PG
Warnings: None?
Notes: Portcallan, 1313; Leion Valerno/Viyony Eseray. (A rather slight linking piece).
Summary: Leion and Viyony attend a wedding.

conuly posting in

agonyaunt

DEAR ABBY: It seems that everywhere I go, people expect tips. Yesterday, I pulled up to the drive-through at a cookie store, and before I paid or was handed my cookies, the clerk asked, "Would you like to leave a tip?" My niece recently told me that after she left a tip at a restaurant, the server followed her outside and asked if she hadn't been a very good server because the tip was small. I can give you more examples just from my family regarding their experience with tipping.

In this economy, I don't feel the 20% rule should apply. For the price of a lunch for two at a sit-down restaurant these days, the tip costs as much as a small entree. When I go through a drive-through, I don't feel I need to tip because I'm not inside using their facility. But if I don't, I get a disappointed look from the gal who gets paid to make and hand me my drink. What are your thoughts? -- TIPPED OUT IN IDAHO

( Read more... )

Profile

estirose

February 2026

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Page Summary

jadelennox - Signal Boost: Maura Healey on 287g agreements: “I support them” ie. ACAB
jadelennox - playing tricks on my brain to get around the buggy pathways
girlgenius_main_feed - Girl Genius for Monday, February 16, 2026
minoanmiss in agonyaunt - Care & Feeding: My son was being disgusting online. My solution has had unintended consequences.
jazzyjj in awesomeers - Just one thing: 16 February 2026
stonepicnicking_okapi in 1word1day - Monday Word: Ergotism
flowing_river in yuletide - Traumatic Experiences Post-Deadline Pinch Hits - Due March 1st 8PM PST
sallymn in 1word1day - Sunday Word: Arcana
jazzyjj in awesomeers - Just one thing: 15 February 2026
brightknightie - Book formats, genres, and sales in the news
otw_news_feed - It’s International Fanworks Day 2026!
calzephyr in 1word1day - Saturday Word: Dum
brightknightie - Wonder Man review (no spoilers)
nanila in awesomeers - Just One Thing (14 February 2026)
xandromedovna in fic_rush - Round 158 Schedule
nanila in awesomeers - Just One Thing (13 February 2025)
girlgenius_main_feed - Girl Genius for Friday, February 13, 2026
nanila in awesomeers - Just One Thing (12 February 2026)
thisbluespirit - Starfall Stories 52
conuly in agonyaunt - (no subject)

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