la_samtyr | Reading

lennymacb posting in

Howdy! My screenplay takes place in rural North Dakota in November 1996, and two teenage characters are fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I know the bat'leth as a weapon was introduced in the show long ago, but when did replicas and toys become widely sold? Would it be realistic for a working-class young woman to have a mini bat'leth she could use as a knife in that year? I also read that the mek'leth (smaller Klingon scimitar) was introduced in DS9 and also appeared in First Contact. How early were replicas of those available to fans?
Thanks a million to you all! Would also love to hear any other miscellaneous stories or details of the TNG+DS9 fandom of the 90s, to give some extra oomph and care to an underrepresented community :)

ysabetwordsmith

This poem was written outside the regular prompt calls. It fills the "all that glitters is not gold" square in my 5-1-25 card for the Colors Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with

fuzzyred. It belongs to A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows series.

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Current Mood: busy

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ysabetwordsmith

friending_memes has posted a new friendzy. Visit the main event on that community. I've also copied my entry below.

Click the banner to join us and make some new friends!

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Missing for 200 Years, the Galapagos Rail Reappears Following Floreana Island Restoration

Centuries after they were made famous by Charles Darwin, and a century after they had become plagued by invasive rats and cats, the Galapagos Islands are well on their way to recovery.

Few events could better capture that recovery than the recent reappearance of the beautiful blue Galapagos rail, a bird which hadn’t been seen on Floreana island for 200 years.

After almost a decade of preparatory work, invasive rats, avian vampire flies, and domesticated cats were eradicated from the island thanks to the close coordination of several conservation groups from around the world working alongside the Galapagos National Park Directorate.

Restoration projects often foster the revival of rare species, or those believed to be extirpated or extinct. It's not often this dramatic, so this is exciting news.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is partly cloudy and chilly.

I fed the birds. I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/2/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/2/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen at least 4 male cardinals chasing each other around the trees, along with 2 squirrels.

EDIT 1/2/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

independence1776

Challenge #1: The Icebreaker Challenge: Introduce yourself. Tell us why you're doing the challenge, and what you hope to gain from it.

I'm Independence1776, Indy for short. I've been in fandom since 2003 and am very much a Fandom Old. (The things I have seen, Gandalf.) I don't have any patience for gatekeeping and bad behavior; I believe in "don't like, don't read." I tend to be gen focused and I like hurt/comfort and whump. I also really love canon divergent AUs.

I updated my profile and pinned post, mostly to say I’m no longer in Tolkien fandom. That is incredibly weird for me to say, much less think, because I’ve been in it for most of my life in fandom. But I’m not anymore. I’m still a part of Star Wars fandom— there are fics I absolutely want to finish writing and to write— but I’m also very quiet there. I've read a lot more published books than fic recently. It’s a strange place for me to be in, both in fandom and not in fandom at the same time.

As far as Snowflake goes, what I'm hoping to get out of it is to feel less disconnected with fandom and maybe start figuring out my place in it as I am now and not who I was in the past.

cakewrecks_feed

Posted by Jen

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/ive-got-a-baaaad-feeling-about-this-2026

"I'm sorry, what did you say you wanted on your cake, again?"

"Right, but didn't you want it written a certain way?"

"Ah, that was it! Ok, nooo problem.

"Now, what kind of decorations would you like?"

"Good, good, and what kind of cake?"

"Ok, great! I've got the order all written up, so you can pick up your cake tomorrow. And don't you worry; our baker puts the rest of us to shame." [wink]

****

The Next Day:

Thanks to Ashley S., Daniel S., Kelsey L., Dan K., & Jake H. who could, like, LITERALLY eat an entire cake right now.

*****

P.S. I just bought another pair of these sleep headphones, so time for another shout-out!

Bluetooth Sleep Headphones

I have the kind of insomnia old-timey bards would write songs about, so I listen to boring audio books on these every night to keep my brain from spinning out of control. Lately I've been wearing them like a sleep mask - like the model here - and WOW, that's helped even more than when I wore them like a headband! These things have been a life saver: comfy enough for side sleeping, not too loud like some of my old speakers, and they only cost $20. Plus my original pair lasted a good 2 years before one of the wires went loose.

Please note that these do run on the big side, but that works out great if you have a big head like me. :D

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

https://www.cakewrecks.com/home/ive-got-a-baaaad-feeling-about-this-2026

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ysabetwordsmith

Today's theme is Most Useful Communities. These are communities with popular topics and plenty of activity, that often come up in searches, and thus make it easy to find fun things to do or new friends to meet. There are other highly useful communities that may not have come up in my searches, so if you'd like to suggest more, leave a comment. For more ideas see

followfriday and the Follow Friday Master Post of thematic community lists.

Note that this post is sorted by topics, so a few communities appear more than once.

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Below are the questions from

thefridayfive for this week.

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ysabetwordsmith

This poem was written outside the regular prompt calls. It fills the "silver-tongued" square in my 5-1-25 card for the Colors Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with

fuzzyred. It belongs to A Poesy of Obscure Sorrows series.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Love Death + Robots "The Other Large Thing" S4 E05 2025 Full Episode

This anthology show is hit-or-miss. Some episodes are meh, some cringeworthy, but the hits are among the best science fiction ever created. This is one of the best. It's a cautionary tale, and if you know cats ... disturbingly plausible. Also hilarious. Do not watch with mouth full.

I adore the pairing, too, such a memorable set: Dingleberry Jones and his minion Thumb Bringer.

Current Mood: amused

ysabetwordsmith

Permacomputing (noun)

Permacomputing is both a concept and a community of practice oriented around issues of resilience and regenerativity in computer and network technology inspired by permaculture.

There are huge environmental and societal issues in today's computing, and permacomputing specifically wants to challenge them in the same way as permaculture has challenged industrial agriculture. With that said, permacomputing is an anti-capitalist political project. It is driven by several strands of anarchism, decoloniality, intersectional feminism, post-marxism, degrowth, ecologism.

Permacomputing is also a utopian ideal that needs a lot of rethinking, rebuilding and technical design work to put in practice. This is why a lot of material on this wiki is highly technical.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

I've signed up for Community Thursdays at

goals_on_dw.

This will be my Thursday recurring post this year. Last year's Hobbies theme was fun but a lot of work.

Today I've been making a ton of posts and comments all over the place, including but not limited to:

allbingo,

birdfeeding,

crowdfunding,

goals_on_dw,

newcomers, and

snowflake_challenge.

Current Mood: busy

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ysabetwordsmith

NASA’s Webb telescope just discovered one of the weirdest planets ever

A newly discovered exoplanet is rewriting the rules of what planets can be. Orbiting a city-sized neutron star, this Jupiter-mass world has a bizarre carbon-rich atmosphere filled with soot clouds and possibly diamonds at its core. Its extreme gravity stretches it into a lemon shape, and it completes a full orbit in under eight hours. Scientists are stunned — no known theory explains how such a planet could exist.

Sounds fun. Anybody want to set a story there? I miss when new scientific discoveries spawned a flood of stories.

Current Mood: excited

ysabetwordsmith

Today is partly sunny and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a large flock of sparrows. A squirrel was running around in the trees.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/1/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/1/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/1/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

The 2026 Rose and Bay Awards are now open for nominations! Please make your nominations and pass the word to all the crowdfunders you know and encourage them to participate. It would be especially helpful for folks you know via places like Kickstarter or Patreon, as I'm not on those sites.

The award period for eligible activities spans January 1-December 31, 2025.
The nomination period spans January 1-January 31, 2026.
The voting period spans February 1-February 28, 2026.

I am eligible in the Poetry and Patron categories this year, if anyone wants to nominate me.

These are the handlers for the 2026 award season:

Art: gs_silva Nominate art! Vote for art!
Fiction: fuzzyred Nominate fiction! Vote for fiction!
Poetry: gs_silva Nominate poetry! Vote for poetry!
Webcomic: curiosity Nominate webcomics! Vote for webcomics!
Other Project: curiosity Nominate other projects! Vote for other projects!
Patron: fuzzyred Nominate patrons! Vote for patrons!

Current Mood: excited

ysabetwordsmith

A set of funny science memes. Do not read with mouth full.

Current Mood: amused

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la_samtyr

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Sounds of laughter, shades of life

Reading

1996 Star Trek Merch

Poem: "Liberosis"

2025 AO3 wrapped

Friending Meme

Wildlife

Birdfeeding

Snowflake Challenge #1

I've Got A Baaaad Feeling About This...

Fandom Snowflake 2026: #1

Follow Friday 1-2-26: Most Useful Communities

Friday Five

Poem: "Heartspur"

Watch "The Other Large Thing"

Vocabulary: Permacomputing

Community Thursdays

WIPdate December 2025

Exoplanets

Birdfeeding

Rose and Bay Awards

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January 2026

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