js_thrill: goat with headphones (goat rock)
([personal profile] js_thrill Mar. 3rd, 2026 05:47 pm)
 Today's song is Nine Black Poppies


I like this song a lot. The annotations explain that Darnielle took the name from a poem by Norman Dubie, who he was familiar with from being featured in the American Poetry Review and who he seems to have subsequently been a big fan of.  This is the sort of Mountain Goats sound I appreciate, with lyrics that loosely allude to a narrative he thought of while reading a poem is exactly the sort of Mountain Goats track that I love.

The first stanza of the poem is: 
 

The junta was jubilant around the mortised fountain.
A solemn procession of century plants going to the bridge.
A dead chauffeur in the ditch.
You thought
you watched a quetzal bird fly from the bursting tin
of gasoline. Nine enemies of the junta.

(You can read the full poem here, if you have JSTOR access).
 
 
GODSWAR is now released. The Mask of Ares and The Spear of Athena are now available!


We continue snippeting with the first main chapter...


Let's meet our actual protagonists... )





ribirdnerd: perched bird (Default)
([personal profile] ribirdnerd posting in [community profile] birdfeeding Mar. 3rd, 2026 05:51 pm)
We had a sunny start but snow and then rain showers as the day went on.

The Wild Turkey flock was by again along with Blue Jays, House Sparrows and a Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Posted by John Amato

Republican Congressman Jim Jordan stretched the norms of reality when he claimed that attacking and then declaring war on Iran was consistent with what Trump told the American people during his 2024 campaign to be president.

Does the phrase, "there's a sucker born every minute," hit a nerve?

Trump campaigned clearly on never starting another war and continually attacked those who did. After being elected in November of 2024, he said, "I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars."

Trump-supporting CNBC host Joe Kernen blasted President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump pulled out of in 2018, and said "enough is enough" with Iran, which set up Jordan to lie to their viewers.

JORDAN: And when people step back and evaluate it, they say, this was the right decision.

This was consistent with what the president told the American people. When we, the people, elected him, he said he was going to do this and make sure it didn't happen.

And, again, I think Americans are willing to, you know, accept this and support this strongly, because it just makes good common sense.

It's degrading to the institution of the House of Representatives that Jim Jordan is the Chairman of the powerful House committee, and he could lie so easily on a topic so dangerous and consequential to US stability
.
Not even rabid MAGA supporters believe that for a second.

Posted by John Amato

In a new CNN poll, a large majority of Americans are against Trump's attack on Iran, while Trump loses more support from the youth vote, and a huge majority don't believe Trump has an actual plan to handle Iran at all.

CNN's Dana Bash discussed the latest results.

BASH: This is something that is really interesting, though, to look at. Let's put up young voters. The question of whether young voters—this is 18 to 34-year-olds—support these strikes.

Seventy-one percent say that they disapprove.

Generationally, usually it's younger people who don't like war.

We go back and look through time, maybe not World War II, but since World War II.

GUEST: Because the young people are the ones who are going to be on the front lines.

MAGA influencers have been claiming that they have turned young voters into conservatives, but this poll shows very different results.

Trump's competency is also very low since all the actions he has taken after being elected have caused much concern and anxiety.

vlcsnap-2026-03-03-08h33m28s290

([syndicated profile] futilitycloset_feed Mar. 3rd, 2026 08:54 pm)

Posted by Greg Ross

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spectacle_Reef_Light_Aerial_View.jpg

On April 8, 1959, when keepers arrived at the Spectacle Reef lighthouse in Lake Huron to prepare it for a new season, they discovered a note:

To Whom It May Concern:

At 1705 hours my plane went down 400 kilometers out at 035 to 050 degrees. I was one mile northeast of here at 5000 feet when my engine went quite dead. I tried to make it in but landed in the water. At that time there were large open areas of water. I did not try to land on the ice as it did not look thick enough. Also I wanted to get as close to this light as possible.

The plane went down in about two minutes after it landed. Before it did it floated close enough to a floe for me to jump. The ice was not over two inches thick. Another large body of water separated me from the light so I waited.

Suddenly the wind shifted to the northeast. The ice I was on started to move. At the very last moment one quarter of the ice ground against the ice packed around the light. My ice floe broke up fast so I ran for the light. I got ashore but was wet from falling in. My clothes froze before I could get the door open.

Once inside I used your towels and overshoes to keep from freezing.

About 2100 I got your stove lit. I hooked up the batteries and lit your warning lamp. The radio receiver worked but the transmitter was dead. I didn’t know enough about it to make it work. I have used the batteries until they are going dead. I sat up last night sending out SOS calls by blinking the main light.

Right now I am deliberating whether to stay here or cross the ice. From the chart I will have eleven miles to travel. There are large water holes, thin ice which had been broken into pieces by the wind yesterday. There is hardly any wind today. We have had two freezing nights, so I ought to make it in about four hours. I want to go now because it is nice weather.

Also I did not file a flight plan so no one will look for me another two or three days. The weather may be bad again.

I have made a mess of your building. I hope you will forgive me. I am going to take some equipment with me, binoculars, coat, hat, blankets, etc. I will turn them into the United States Coast Guard as soon as I get ashore.

Signed,

M.Sgt. William J. Wyman
USAF

The note bore no date. Wyman had departed Saginaw in a Piper Super Cruiser on Feb. 22, headed for the former Kinross Air Force Base near Sault Ste. Marie. He had never arrived. No trace of him was ever found.

(Thanks, Charles.)

sasheneskywalker: (Default)
([personal profile] sasheneskywalker posting in [community profile] fancake Mar. 3rd, 2026 10:15 pm)
Fandom: Batman - All Media Types
Pairings/Characters: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Length: 4,742 words
Creator Links: [archiveofourown.org profile] Wisetypewriter
Theme: siblings, complicated relationships, drinking & talking

Summary: Dick drinks on a rooftop.

Jason shows up.

Reccer's Notes: Really interesting fic! I love the exploration of Dick and Jason’s relationship, especially how the story weaves in elements from different comic continuities. It hit me right in the feels <3

Fanwork Links: Brothers around a beer
chris_gerrib: (Default)
([personal profile] chris_gerrib Mar. 3rd, 2026 03:42 pm)
Chester's MoonscapeChester's Moonscape by Eric T Reynolds

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The novel is set in the late 1940s and frankly it feels like it was written in that same era. Chester Brache, a painter, is asked to paint some extremely realistic space landscapes. The novel is effectively a mystery, which makes a plot summary difficult. The pace is a bit leisurely, and the stakes (appear to be) low, which in a conventional mystery would put it as "cozy."

There are a number of interesting historical tidbits in the book. For example, Chester takes a flight from Washington DC to Los Angeles on a new and high-tech Lockheed Constellation. It's 18 hours with three refueling stops. There's also several scenes set at early science fiction conventions.

Overall, I found the book interesting if a bit too nostalgic for my tastes.

Note: I was provided an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.



View all my reviews
Tags:

Posted by David Edwards

First Lady Melania Trump told the United Nations that she hoped the children of the world could experience "peace" just days after her husband, the president of the United States, was said to have bombed an Iranian girls' school because of outdated maps.

While presiding over the UN Security Council on Monday, Melania Trump made a statement in her "capacity as First Lady of the United States."

"First, my heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their heroes, who sacrifice their lives for freedom," she said without referring specifically to the conflict in Iran. "Their bravery and dedication will always be remembered. I extend my earnest wishes for a swift and smooth recovery to all those who have been injured."

"You are in my thoughts and prayers during these challenging times," she continued. "The U.S. stands with all of the children throughout the world. I hope soon peace will be yours."

According to The New Republic, at least 175 people were killed on Saturday when the U.S. bombed Shajarah Tayyebeh, a girls' primary school in Minab, Iran.

.

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