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Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Spirit

Posted by Zach Weinersmith

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/spirit-4

Click here to go see the bonus panel!

Hovertext:
Back of the envelope estimate suggests Jericho has 700 spirits-not-at-rest per square meter.

Today's News:

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/spirit-4

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Five Things on Xmas Eve

1. Work load at dayjob has been low this week; we got out at noon yesterday, and today I can log off at 12:30 pm. We are then off through January 2 for winter break (yay, academia). I had a couple of small things I was able to resolve this morning, go me!

2. I did not send out Xmas cards this year, but I appreciate every one I received. I hope to be back to it next year.

3. I am thawing out a chuck roast to cook later this week, probably Friday. My tamarind-sauce-flavored vegetable soup from Sunday, which includes silken tofu, grape tomatoes, carrot, potato, and green beans, is very delicious, especially with a couple tablespoons of congee dumped in. Last night, I finished off my bag of post-surgery chicken nuggets and baked sliced golden potatoes at 425 degrees F with olive oil and salt.

4. I have been listening to a ton of Xmas music, so at least I am somewhat in the holiday spirit. I did not have energy to pull out my ornament tree and dress it up, but we have a smaller one downstairs so I moved it from the corner onto the dining room table--the ornaments were still on it from last year! We have some cards propped around the base, and I have more on the little desk in the guest room. I didn't use my usual space in the back room because it would block my DVD screen, which I need for the Blake's 7 watchalong and possibly even some Shakespeare.

5. I have tentative plans for Xmas afternoon with local friends. I want to get started on my fancy wooden turtle puzzle (which I have had for several years), and also to do some mending of clothing. I especially want to try needle-felting a hole in a very old black cashmere cardigan (commercially knitted); I was wearing it when I broke my elbow years ago, so couldn't wash it for weeks, and it got a moth hole under one arm before I was healed up. I am not sure if the hole is too big for felting. We shall see. I have washed it after its long storage!

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Rec-cember Day 20: Heated Rivalry

I already recced my fave Heated Rivalry fic on Day 5 when I focused on hockey romance more broadly, but since Heated Rivalry has taken over fandom by storm, I thought some more recs would go down well. Everything is Shane/Ilya because duh. Also, they were written before the show, but since the show is such a faithful adaptation of the book, it shouldn't be a problem.

Ilya Rozanov Gets Railed by GlitterCity 13K

“You didn’t like it the last time we tried it,” Shane said.

Ilya gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Was years ago. Maybe it is an acquired taste, like licorice.”

“You also don’t like licorice,” Shane pointed out.

“Yes, but I keep trying it because Luca likes it so much.”

“And then you make a face and tell him how awful it is.”

“When have I ever told you your dick is awful?” Ilya said, looking mildly offended. “I am its number one fan.” I kinda dislike the title because while there's of course quite a lot of smut in this, what makes this story is the amazing characterisation and the fantastic banter (see the quote). Podfic available!

you'd rather die than take your eyes off me by princebutt. 6K, Ilya is in a car accident. Shane hurries to be by his side, and outs them in the process. Set during the year Ilya is playing for Boston. AU.

there's no pretending by moonsock. 13 K. The term, he’s told, is temporary retrograde amnesia. Ilya doesn’t need the direct translation to understand: he forgot things. Ten years of things.

The Pitt

singing in unison by dotsayers. AU. Gen. Leah's sick the night before Pittfest. Robby gets his ticket back. I love a good ensemble piece. And an AU. Two of my fave things rolled in one.

Jingle Bell Shocks

Posted by The CW Team

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/jingle-bell-shocks-2025

Stockings around the Christmas tree

Look so bad that your jaw drops.

Once he got a good look at them

Santa Claus went into shock.

Who comes up with these Christmas cakes?

Have the bakers lost their minds?

Did they drink too much spiced eggnog?

Or are they legally blind?

You will see a glut of flotsam pieces as you neeear

Cakes that just won't make you jolly

Hey, d'you think that might be holly?

Shocking amounts of frosting, these

Might send you right 'round the bend

Will you hold out for better cakes

Or just buy these in the end?

BONUS CAROL OF THE SILVER BELLS:

[sing it with me, now!]

Diiiing doooong,

Diiing...

Dong.

A choir of thanks to Maryann M., Janet G., Kadmi, Megan K., Katherine D., Jackson L., Ann M., Jenna C., Ashley S., & Grainne, who all want to go Christmas caroling with Sharyn. Me, too, guys. ME, TOO.

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/jingle-bell-shocks-2025

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Frosted grass, being a hater, sleeves

We got a cold snap last night and a few millimeters of snow. It looks like the grass is coated in powdered sugar. Downstairs is still quite warm - 17° in the kitchen at lunchtime - but after I fed the cats at 7:00 am I went back to bed with a wool sweater on and I never got hot enough to take it off.

It's so nice to see Wax enjoying her fandom so much. She's had two objectively bad TV shows that she was super fannish about since the last time I had a fandom. I do like IWTV enough to get that excited about, but it still wouldn't be like her fandoms (911 and Roswell before that) because I can't get that into reading it (I have read some, but I didn't settle in) and wouldn't be able to write it.

The last fandom I was able to get into reading was Stranger Things 4 Steve/Eddie a couple of years ago, but that was also not quite the full fannish experience, because I wasn't as into the canon. I look over at her and see her chatting with people and reading furiously, and I remember that, and feel happy for her... but sad for myself.

She's even excited about Heated Rivalry - and I am too! But not nearly as much. I guess it feels more like I'm enjoying it as a member of slash fandom, and I'm keeping abreast of what's happening and getting the references, but, as I said once before... I am enjoying the show, which is good and well made, without really liking the characters very much, or the plot.

I was talking to Wax about this, and the absence of uncritical joy that I used to engage with in my 20s, and she diagnosed that I need to "open up my hating heart". I'm hating a lot more than I did when I was younger, it's true. The thing is that I don't know how to do that.

Anyway... I'm working on the second of the three triplet sweaters now, after Wax knitted most of the body of it. I finished the first sweater, after having to knit the first sleeve entirely twice - or rather knitting to the cuff beffore starting over - and now the same thing has happened with the second sweater. It's boring stockinette though, unlike the first sweater, and with very black yarn, so in order to count stitches and decreases I have to have a lamp pointing at it. Sigh.

Current Mood: cranky
Current Location: the living room of the Devil Girl House
Current Music: Grandaddy, "Allan Parsons In a Winter Wonderland"

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weeknight sneakout failure

I went to the Blue Moon for some house music and got mid-20th century Christmas music & jazz instead. Yes, I like jazz and yes, Brit was running things, and yes, the local house heads started to show up shortly before I left around 2000. And why would I leave so early?

Because I got paged for work. I'm on call into the new year. I did manage to get home in half an hour, handle the stupid* situation, do stuff that I hope will make a recurrence less likely, and go to bed late.

Mayunn, I feel like I deserve a Christmas break at this point.

Oh: I stopped by Scarecrow Video for the first time in over fifteen years to rent "Sinners" on DVD. I now have an account there under my current name. What took me so long?

*Stupid because our service uses an vintage 2010 open source queueing system that sometimes makes jobs just disappear. Or get stuck. The fix has so far taken nine calendar months of one or two developers' efforts on average. The worst of it should get fixed early next month, and the whole thing should be done by spring. Le sigh.

Snopes' Christmas playlist: Holiday song rumors we've fact-checked

Posted by Nur Ibrahim

https://www.snopes.com/collections/christmas-holiday-song-rumors/

From "The Twelve Days of Christmas" to "Jingle Bells," this playlist has it all.

https://www.snopes.com/collections/christmas-holiday-song-rumors/

Coca-Cola didn't invent modern image of Santa Claus. Here's how centuries of Christmas tradition sha

Posted by Emery Winter

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coca-cola-santa-claus-origin/

Coca-Cola may have helped popularize Santa's look, but his modern image was already taking shape long before the soft drink company's ads.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coca-cola-santa-claus-origin/

Did John Legend pull music from Amazon over Bezos' ties to Trump?

Posted by Jack Izzo

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/john-legend-music-amazon-trump/

The rumor didn't line up with any actual events.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/john-legend-music-amazon-trump/

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just one thing

Just One Thing (24 December 2025)

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!

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The Odyssey [2026]

The Odyssey (2026)
[ official trailer ]

[ here @

axisandallies ]

Current Mood: depressed
Current Music: American Monster

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Don't wear your motorcycle colors in here

Disappointing Birthdays not mine, Mom's. She needs to learn to say no to people (namely the couple I dislike who invited themselves to dinner and volunteered mom and her car to go pick up her BFF, the aunt to the woman of the couple) She was barely home and I had to go to dinner with them.

Where did we go? To Harrigan's a bar/restaurant with the subject line sign on the door. It does however have really good food and gives you a lot of it for low cost. At least there was that and I FINALLY got my blood thinners approved so I left dinner early to get them and my insulin.

Finally edited and posted my last Hazbin story to

fandomtrees so there's that.

I've been sulking most of the day so there's that too.

I have a holiday special for fannish 50

Betty sent me This delight : Watch ILM Recreate the Death Star Trench Run Out of Virtual Gingerbread

I'm sure I've mentioned Hazbin Hotel is a musical (I KNOW. I don't like them much so I have no explanation for this) Sam Haft (the composer) and Blake Roman (voice actor of Angel Dust and the egg bois) jokingly said if the sound track made the Billboard Top 100 Sam would come up with music and Blake would sing Christmas songs as Frank the egg boi. Well It hit the top 100 and Blake's Losing Streak went to #14. So have two songs

And the first one has Alex Brightman (who sings Beetlejuice on Broadway and voices Sir Pentious (who is first in the song) joining Blake.

Watch on YouTube

And here, have the song that enabled the above

Watch on YouTube

And Star Rect has another one out

Watch on YouTube

and the original

Watch on YouTube

Day 23's tea - Creme Brulee Black Tea: black teas, crème brulee flavoring, and marigold petals. It's not bad. I've bought this one previously. It's less caramelized sugar and cream and more amaretto

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Platonic Rare Pair Flash

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Cruise - 4 Days: Chicago

Got up at 7 AM.

On the bus to Chicago. Backtracking, I dropped the dogs off with no issues. The dogs seemed happy to be in a place with other dogs. Dropped the cats off. I forgot Lily’s ear meds, but they’re going to examine her and prescribe. I had had a strong feeling that something was going to go wrong, but it looks like I’m going on this trip! I need to have more faith in my own competence. I need to talk to my therapist about that.

Now I'm in the hotel across the street (literally) from the airport. Apparently my reservation for tonight didn't come through, but a very helpful and patient desk clerk got me registered and made the room connect with my reservation for tomorrow (which did go through). She kept on wanting to give me water, so I finally took some, and she gave me a free toothbrush! They had a grab-and-go coffee and light food place, which I headed for because I didn't really want a restaurant meal and I figured that it would be cheaper. The choices were a salad or a salad, so I picked up a Caesar salad and ate it all! The person there was very helpful too. (As well they should be for the price that I'm paying :)) The food was more expensive than DoorDash, but it was a lot more convenient. My room has a view of a runway, but it doesn't seem to be a runway that they're using right now. I saw where to catch the L tomorrow on the way to the room.

I'm not sure what to do now. I need to assemble the cane-with-a-seat, but I'm too tired to deal with it now. I think that I'll read a little while and then go to bed.

( O'Hare Pictures )

Current Mood: relieved
Current Music: Ranges vs Caps on tv

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adventures in cooking

find a way to get the next one

I just cleaned off the kitchen counter and put the last bowl/spatulas in the sink to soak (the dishwasher is already running, and all the cupcakes are cooked and 4 out of 5 frostings are made (I just finished the strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream) - tomorrow I will make the ganache and possibly also a whipped ganache (I've never done it with butter in it - does that make it more buttercream-ish?) just to change things up a bit.

Today, I baked the strawberry (doubled to make 80), apple cider (60), and funfetti (doubled to make 80) cupcakes - there could have been more funfetti, but not enough to fill a whole pan, so I didn't bother. I added cinnamon bits from King Arthur to the apple cider ones and dipped them in maple cinnamon sugar, which is a change, one that hopefully people will like.

I also discovered that the cupcake carriers I've had sitting in a box under a chair in my living room for a few months are the wrong size (they are for standard-sized cupcakes) so I only have 10 mini ones and I need 13, so I will use the some foil lasagna pans for my brother and sister and one of the kids - they'll get a few more cupcakes out of it, since the carriers hold 2 dozen but the 9 x 13" tray fits about 30. *hands* I'm just glad I still have a pack of them left to use; otherwise, I'd have been up a creek.

Tomorrow is Pipe-a-palooza 7: The Pipening! (yeah, it's kind of shocking to me I've been doing cupcakes for 7 years now - I started in 2019 - but I like it more than the chocolates [and it's also less time-consuming than the chocolates were] and I can't do ice creams anymore due to logistics, though they remain my all-time favorite of the homemade Christmas gifts I've done over the years.) Wish me luck! It's always the hardest part for me. Hopefully I will remember to take pictures to share afterwards.

Whoops, I started this entry an hour ago and got distracted by stuff like packing my overnight bag and refilling my water bottle etc. so I'm just gonna hit post now and work up the energy to go wash my hair.

***

( 6-day plan, day 5 )

***

Entry tags:

Star Wars: Clone Exchange, Valentines Exchange

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CBS pulled report on Salvadoran prison CECOT because it was a 'blatant hoax'?

Posted by Taija PerryCook

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cbs-cecot-report-blatant-hoax-satire/

Bari Weiss, CBS' editor-in-chief, reportedly held the story about abuses in the facility because it wasn't ready.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cbs-cecot-report-blatant-hoax-satire/

Investigating letter Epstein allegedly sent to Larry Nassar that mentioned Trump

Posted by Joey Esposito

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/epstein-nassar-letter/

The correspondence in question is present in the Department of Justice's files on Epstein, but its authenticity is another matter.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/epstein-nassar-letter/

Ah yes, a red Christmas. In the most unfun of ways.

Alas, no

rec_cember entry today, buuuut...

I know tons of you are deep in the Heated Rivalry hole. Did you know a kinkmeme was happening? And a SECOND kinkmeme? Now you do!

GQ has an article out with some rather saucy images.

I've spotted some icons by

wickedgame here.

Lastly, I'd recommend using the Explore/Site and Journal Search feature; I haven't seen DW be this vocal about a show for ages. I'm sure you'll find fellow fans to chat with.

Go forth and be fannish 🥳

(no subject)

It was snowing lightly when we got up this morning, and around 6:30 am the school alerted parents that school would be cancelled today because heavy snow was forecast to start mid morning. The girls were overjoyed. Unfortunately, the heavy snow never happened; there was light snow during the morning but by the middle of the day it had turned to light rain, so the weather is just miserable. And cancelling school turned out to be unnecessary.

Although I love my granddaughters, it's hard when they're at home all the time because there is constant noise and movement and girls wanting my attention for something and by the end of the day I'm exhausted. They're better at occupying themselves some of the time than they were a few years ago, but this introvert still finds it hard. Also my daughter is an extreme extrovert who has to have a TV show or music going all the time when she isn't working, so the whole house just feels loud and overwhelming sometimes. I come down to the basement for some peace and quiet and guess what? One or more of the girls follows me. (When my daughter is working she is mostly in her office with the door closed so even if she is in a meeting or watching a video the sound is muffled, and inaudible to me if I'm in the basement.)

Eden is having a birthday party this afternoon. She and a small group of friends will be painting little ceramic cottages and/or shops, but right now they're not doing that because I have just heard a bunch of feet thundering up the stairs to the top floor (bedrooms).

I slept better last night than I had for the three or four previous nights but I'm still catching up with my sleep deficit and I feel tired and headachey today. Eden's party is giving me a respite which I'm appreciating even though I can still hear the party noise.

I've done barely any crocheting and no knitting since I moved here, partly because I've been feeling somewhat unsettled and partly because I don't have any good place to lay out crafts or sewing and because I packed up the project of multi coloured crochet squares I was working on for much of he year and sent it to storage and so now have no access to that. Today I decided to start a different granny square project with some softer yarn I brought with me and which I can replenish online. (Amazon of course.) I didn't particularly like the yarn I was using for the first project but I still want to finish it, eventually.