Jaunting out for cultural reasons

Jun. 4th, 2026 02:41 pm
oursin: Painting by Carrington of performing seals in a circus balancing coloured balls (Performing seals)
[personal profile] oursin

Some years ago I advised a composer who was composing an opera about A Historical Figure about whom I am something of a Nexpert, and I am now on their mailing list and get info on their current activities and broadcasts and so on -

And I was invited to the Private View of this, taking place at a venue which is only a reasonable bus-ride and short walk away.

Also giving me the chance to see a small part of the nearish locality with which I am relatively unfamiliar, and which has its charms.

I am not sure I was entirely enthused by the artworks - there was one installation of ceramics where I wished I had someone there to whom I could murmur that they had an urgent phallic look -

My main problem with the venue, however, was the acoustics - I think it was the kind of space where once you got a certain mass of people conversing it would always have been a bit trying for me and my hearing aids, but combined with the ambient music coming out of the various speakers, not optimal at all. (Though maybe its own soundscape....)

I don't think there was anyone there I knew besides The Composer - mostly of a younger generation and art/music people rather than groves of academe - and I didn't really get into much chat, but I did get 2 admiring comments on the green hair streaks and 1 compliment to my pendant (which I think I got at Wiscon, unless it was 4th St?).

However, I have had a sweet email from The Composer thanking me for coming.

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I have just been made aware of the Thursday-morning WMBR show Pontoon Palace.
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Outlander prequel/spin-off Blood of my Blood season two premieres September 18. 




Discussion Post: Off Campus

Jun. 4th, 2026 10:00 am
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Lara

Off Campus movie poster. A close up of a woman's back wearing a jersey that says GRAHAM. She's being kissed by a man who has one hand lifting the jersey above her belt, and the other hand on her backsideSome might say that I’m not the target market for a show about university students when I’m a middle-aged mother with a surprising amount of grey hair*. To that person I will say, fuck you, I can watch what I want.

*I only realised this when I shaved my head yesterday and saw all the grey hair on the floor.

I watched the entirety of Off Campus over two days and I enjoyed it. It’s certainly compulsive viewing. Is it perfect? No, but I still had a good time.

My thoughts on it? I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours in the comments.

Thought one:

For me (and I know this is very much a subjective thing), the only good actor in the bunch was Allie. I found Hannah and Garret to be rather wooden at times and a little over-reliant on the awkward giggle. Or is that an early 20s thing? (Twenty years ago, did I do that much awkward giggling??)

Thought two:

The only one of Elle Kennedy’s books that I read is The Deal and that was many years ago now so if there are significant differences between the book and the TV show, they passed me by. (Feel free to sound off in the comments if you were bothered by the differences, if there are any?)

Thought three:

I will say there is something rather soothing, maybe even healing, about jocks being enthusiastic about consent and being sex positive in a female gaze, feminist kind of way. I saw this in particular in Dean and his interactions with Allie. I saw this even in the variety of sex positions that were used. I enjoyed the mini flashback to all the sex that they had had in secret. Very much a case of equals enjoying each other.

Are you watching? What do you think? Anyone else looking forward to Allie and Dean’s series?

(no subject)

Jun. 4th, 2026 09:46 am
oursin: Brush the Wandering Hedgehog by the fire (Default)
[personal profile] oursin
Happy birthday, [personal profile] starlady!

Bah

Jun. 3rd, 2026 09:37 pm
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[personal profile] days_unfolding
Overslept until almost 9 AM. Good, my CPAP said that I had eight hours.

Got my groceries delivered. A neighbor stopped by to see the dogs. He asked if he could come in the yard, and I said yes, so he came in and gave the dogs Milkbones. Gracie was jumping on his back and licking his ear. He said that he saw the sticker that Urbana Parking put on my car, so I explained the situation. He thought that was ridiculous.

I signed up for the Saturday Books 2 Prisoners session. I need to get back in the groove.

I bought some small round plastic containers in which to freeze mashed potatoes. I’ll have hamburgers and mashed potatoes for lunches or dinners.

Showered and am wearing a short-sleeved shirt, capris, and sandals. It feels good.

I looked for a very small ceiling fan for upstairs and found an 11 inch one that might work. I need to measure. Damn, it’s hot up here. The downstairs stays cool. Actually, I put two fans on and that helps.

Piano went well. I need to work on reading ahead, so Gemini gave me some suggestions on how to practice that. My teacher just said to go slower. I might ask my pianist friend for suggestions.

I’m not going to get the recycling out tonight. I got the hose partially disentangled and watered my plants. But I need to feed the fur faces (done) and feed myself. My meeting about the fall trip was rescheduled to 9 CDT.

Zara is one cool cat. Oliver insists on coming into her room when she eats because he wants to eat her leftovers. But Zara will eat calmly with him in there. Oh, and she snuggled up to me during my piano class.

I’m thinking of buying a used Windows 11 laptop for the music room. But I want to copy my mom’s drafts of emails off of the current laptop first. I need a portable hard drive.

Well, that sucked. I received a message that the trip meeting was going to be at 7 PDT, not 6, which is 9 my time. But when I logged in, they were ending the meeting. Plus, there was a lot of static. I did get an answer about my suitcase. They told me to call them, but that also, they will send emails with all the information. But bah. But I admit that I'm lucky to take the trip.

I need to do a little more laundry before I sleep and put it on the rack. (That sounds like I’m torturing my clothes.) I want to get to bed at a decent hour because I have an online meeting for a committee for which I’m a liaison.

Book bingo May

Jun. 3rd, 2026 09:38 pm
tellshannon815: (august booth)
[personal profile] tellshannon815


Graphic novel or comic: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/232479447-fate
No sex/romance: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77661.The_Daughter_of_Time
Novella: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201750645-queen-b
First person POV: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60556912-the-housemaid
YA/Children's: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/244215822-the-obsession
Figures without facial features on the cover: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58601515-lies-like-wildfire
Book made into a film or TV series: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49078674-playing-nice
Job/profession in the title: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198218463-the-teacher
Main character over the age of 30: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/410445.T_is_for_Trespass
An author's debut/first book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205650368-the-ministry-of-time
Non-fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/229273911-queens-at-war
Set at a school/university: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42779071-the-expectations
Crime/mystery: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/124102994-the-opposite-of-murder
Female author: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61440266-it-ends-at-midnight
Author you've not read before: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214668449-the-wrong-neighbour
A favourite author blurbed it:

Substitution list:
*Over 300 Pages
*Book in Series
*LGBTQ+ - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/234856009-coffeeshop-in-an-alternate-universe
*Recommended - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27864449-his-dark-materials
*POC Author - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223955096-cursed-daughters
*Multiple POVs - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/81307313-the-birthday-reunion
*Classic/Retelling
*Sci-fi/Fantasy - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/220140531-the-other-valley
*Free Space https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/218032206-the-memory-collectors
*Anthology/Collection
*Biography/Memoir
*Friendship
*Name in the Title
*Movie/TV Tie-in
*With a Woman Protagonist
*From the Library
*Thriller/Suspense
*Set Somewhere You've Been
*Non-Human POV
*Fairy Tale or Fairy Tale Retelling
*Under 100 Pages - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/230824619-death-row
*Romance Plot or Sub-plot - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/83994697-the-seven-year-slip
*Translated
*With a Blue Cover - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213713209-the-wasp-trap
*Horror or Paranormal - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203578707-what-the-woods-took
*Colour in the Title
*Seasonal Read
*Number in title - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58385688-nine-lives
*Three word title - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40126622-the-great-believers
*Craft, Hobby or Cookbook
*Written by an author from your state or country
*Animal on the cover - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213940469-taking-the-lead
*Disability or Mental health
*Read a book from the year you were born
*Mythology
*Title begins with first letter of your name - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/217991744-hamnet
*Dystopian
*Book mentioned in another book
*Diverse reads
*One word title
*Award Winning/Bestseller - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/134300796-now-in-november
*Disabled Author
*Non-western Setting
*Set in your state/country
*Title is at Least Five Words Long - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231309743-seven-reasons-to-murder-your-dinner-guests
*Indigenous author
*Has illustrations (but not a comic or graphic novel)
*Re-read

Various & Sundry, 6/3/26

Jun. 3rd, 2026 08:22 pm
[syndicated profile] scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by John Scalzi

I have gotten out of the habit of commenting on the news of the day here, mostly because, as I have said before, when it comes to the current governance of our country, there’s only so many times I can yell “it’s because they’re fascists, what did you expect” before I bore even myself, and also, frankly, the time I have to babysit comment threads these days is minimal. I’m not entirely sure how I managed it back in the day because it feels like I barely have time to keep up with my actual paid duties at the moment, and I keep piling additional responsibilities onto my plate.

Nevertheless, I think I want to get back to it a bit here, partly because it’s not like I don’t have thoughts on various news stories as they happen, and partly because it’s good for keeping up regular posting here. So I think at least a couple times a week I’m going to post a “Various & Sundry” post, catching up with my thoughts on events when those thoughts are longer than a post on Threads or Bluesky would allow, but not long enough for their own full-fledged post. They will usually cover three to five items, including but not necessarily limited to current events. Sometimes I’ll also plop in something I think is amusing or has otherwise caught my eye.

In the past for things like this I would try to avoid dropping in stuff I’d already commented on elsewhere, but this time around I think I’m going to be a little more lax about that, one, because I know that not everyone who visits here follows me on Threads/Bluesky/Mastodon, so that material will be new to those folks in any event, and two, because often even if I’ve commented about the story elsewhere, what I’ve done there is mostly have been quippy, and here I might have something else to say about it.

Also, three, I’m lazy, and four, inasmuch as this site acts as my own institutional memory, if I post something about it here it constitutes an official record. I mean, all the posts I ever placed on the former Twitter are now entirely lost to time, since I have gone in and purged my entire timeline there. This site, however, endures. So there it is. Welcome historians and biographers of the future! This is me, in typed form!

For these posts and as (nearly) always, I will be leaving the comments open but please do me the favor of remembering the comment policy here. Please be polite to others, especially when you disagree, and avoid making me come in and Malleting your post. There is a special subclass of commenter here who especially likes to take any point and use it as a jumping off point for some other thing they want to jam into the discussion and/or likes to use particularly elevated terms or positions just to get a reaction. I am not about that these days, folks, even if I generally agree with your positions. I’m tired, y’all, and the Mallet will have a hair trigger. Please comment accordingly. Thank you in advance for not being a pain in my ass.

With that as preamble, here are today’s various & sundry topics:

60 Minutes reporter Scott Pelley fired from CBS News: This was not exactly unexpected, since in a staff meeting with his new boss Nick Bilton he expressed, shall we say, unvarnished opinions about Bilton and CBS News head Bari Weiss, and apparently declined to apologize to either them after the fact. One does not do that, especially to status-anxious posers like Bilton and Weiss, without expecting repercussions. Weiss and Bilton may in fact be incompetent (that’s obvious in the case of Weiss, and a reasonable supposition about Bilton, who has almost no relevant experience for the job he now holds), but they are still the bosses. Pelley knew he was setting his career at CBS one fire the moment he opened his mouth.

Also, he’s not wrong. His departure email came with receipts about how and when he and 60 Minutes were pressured or outright made to compromise their journalistic integrity since Weiss has been in charge, and a follow-up statement flat out called Weiss a liar regarding the manner in which his firing was handled. Weiss and Bilton have to know that in this sort of “they said. he said” situation, Pelley has integrity on his side, and they do… not. It’s also clear that whatever 60 Minutes might be after this, it will probably not be what it was, and it will probably be worse. And that, indeed, that has been the plan from the start.

“AI” use starts getting really expensive: Turns out there really is no such thing as a free lunch, as the various “AI” providers are changing how their services are metered, from “per request” to how many tokens one burns through with those requests. Tokens aren’t cheap! Users are burning through their monthly allotment of them in a day, apparently largely because coders and others were using them for somewhat frivolously. One particularly salacious (but possibly sensationalized) story had an anonymous company burning through half a billion dollars of “AI” use in a single month. I’d want to see some actual reporting on that, including the company’s name, before I lend that report full credence, but out in the real world, prices are still going up, enough so that using “AI” is now more expensive than paying the humans companies are laying off to pay for the “AI.”

And if you’re wondering why, if that’s so, companies are still apparently so avid to replace humans with “AI,” well, one answer is the corporate class of tech just fuckin’ hates workers, and would rather give their money to each other in tech circle-jerk than to actual humans who might foolishly spend that money on things like, you know, food and rent and children. Another reason is that the other corporate folks who don’t actively hate their workers were sold a bill of goods, where they were made to believe an ineffective tool could streamline their costs (mostly by firing workers), only to find out after those human workers were let go that the actual costs of that ineffective tool were hidden from them. Now they’re stuck.

No, I don’t particularly have a warm, fuzzy feeling for tech execs at the moment.

Which brings us to our third thing today, from humorist Eleanor Morton. Find the lie.

— JS

Silo season 3 trailer

Jun. 3rd, 2026 04:19 pm
jo: (Default)
[personal profile] jo posting in [community profile] tv_talk
Silo season 3 premieres on AppleTV+ on July 3.



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[personal profile] fox_in_me


📝 Оригинальный текст записи
Привет всем, кто всё ещё читает меня. Иногда мне кажется, что таких людей осталось совсем немного, но, наверное, именно поэтому и хочется продолжать писать не ради громких мыслей, а ради ощущения, что где-то по ту сторону экрана кто-то всё ещё способен остановиться и просто прожить вместе с тобой несколько минут жизни.
Несколько дней назад мне удалось выбраться в одно очень тихое место прямо над морем. Там почти никогда нет людей, только редкие отголоски музыки из заведений наверху, шум машин с дороги и ветер, который постоянно гуляет по склонам. Я сидел среди высокой травы и смотрел, как медленно наступают сумерки: сначала небо становится мягче, потом появляются первые звёзды, а следом спутники и огни, движущиеся над горизонтом. Когда-то, в 2022 году, любой движущийся огонёк в небе казался чем-то опасным, чем-то, от чего внутри всё сжималось. Сейчас же небо стало настолько насыщенным этими точками, что кажется почти живым, словно оно всё время движется, дышит, меняется, танцует)
И компанию в тот вечер мне неожиданно составили ёжики. Самые обычные, маленькие, шуршащие в траве рядом со мной. Они не убегали, только сопели и возились возле ног, будто ждали чего-то. У меня с собой была клубника, и я делился ею с ними, хотя прекрасно знаю, что ёжики куда больше любят мясо. Но в тот момент это казалось чем-то удивительно правильным - сидеть над морем, слушать ночной город вдали и кормить клубникой маленьких колючих существ, которые почему-то решили провести этот вечер рядом со мной.
В последнее время я всё чаще ловлю себя на желании уйти куда-нибудь с ноутбуком и просто писать среди людей, но в одиночестве. Есть в Одессе кафе с названием «Интроверт», и меня почему-то очень тянет туда. Может быть, из-за самого названия. Хочется однажды сесть там у окна с чашкой крепкого кофе, открыть пустую страницу и наконец написать что-то настоящее вне дома, не между звонками и делами, а в каком-то другом внутреннем состоянии.
И почему-то именно в тот вечер я снова вспомнил историю «Бурана». Советской космической программы, которая появилась как ответ американским шаттлам. Пятнадцать лет работы, тысячи инженеров, огромная страна, строящая корабль, который должен был летать в космос и возвращаться обратно. «Буран» действительно совершил свой единственный автоматический полёт, а для его транспортировки создали «Мрию», тот самый украинский Ан-225, крупнейший самолёт в мире. Но ирония этой истории в том, что всё это в итоге оказалось никому не нужным. После распада СССР программа умерла, сам шаттл годами стоял в ангаре, пока в начале двухтысячных на него просто не рухнула крыша. Столько лет труда, мечтаний, человеческой веры и в какой-то момент всё превратилось лишь в воспоминание и архивные фотографии.
Наверное, именно поэтому мне так страшно наблюдать, как быстро люди обесценивают прошлое, подвиги, чужую боль и даже целые поколения. Когда-то 9 мая воспринималось как что-то священное почти для всех. Сейчас отношение изменилось до неузнаваемости, но ведь те люди, которые действительно прошли войну, ещё живы. Их осталось очень мало. И, наверное, одна из самых страшных вещей в жизни это чувствовать, как пережитое тобой становится ненужным или забытым. Я хорошо знаю, что такое обесценивание. И знаю, как тяжело жить с этим ощущением внутри.
Хотя жизнь, как ни странно, всё равно продолжает цепляться за самые простые вещи. Сегодня, например, я снова ездил по секонд-хендам. Есть в этом какой-то почти детский азарт : заходить в один магазин, потом в другой, искать что-то своё среди сотен чужих вещей. В итоге я купил пять вещей по цене одной новой футболки из обычного магазина, и, конечно же, среди них снова оказались мягкие игрушки, которые я почему-то до сих пор очень люблю. Наверное, мне нравится не сама покупка, а процесс поиска, ощущение маленького живого приключения, где ты неожиданно находишь что-то, что почему-то вызывает радость.
Потом был рынок, свежие овощи для супа, обычный вечер, запах свежего базилика, сельдерея и другой зелени и летнего воздуха из окна. И где-то между всем этим я наконец занялся ремонтом своей гитары.
Скоро она снова станет живой.
Этой гитаре уже больше двадцати лет. Она появилась ещё тогда, когда я долго откладывал деньги на свой первый инструмент. За эти годы многое менялось: города, работа, люди рядом, обстоятельства. А она каким-то образом осталась со мной. Наверное, поэтому я отношусь к ней не просто как к вещи.
Когда я приехал забирать её из музыкальной лавки, неожиданно задержался там почти на час:
Этой гитаре уже больше двадцати лет. Она появилась ещё тогда, когда я долго откладывал деньги на свой первый инструмент. За эти годы многое менялось: города, работа, люди рядом, обстоятельства. А она каким-то образом осталась со мной. Наверное, поэтому я отношусь к ней не просто как к вещи. И вместе с ремонтом я снова оказался в музыкальной лавке. Наверное, для меня такие магазины всегда были особенными местами. Там редко встречаются случайные люди. Обычно это те, кто по-настоящему любит своё дело. Немного творческие, немного странные, иногда настолько увлечённые, что забывают о времени. Когда я пришёл забирать гитару, парень за прилавком не просто вернул мне инструмент. Он начал рассказывать про какие-то новые маленькие электроукулеле, компактные бас-гитары, необычные модели, которые недавно появились. Потом разговор перешёл на дерево, на то, как разные породы влияют на звучание инструмента, почему одна гитара живёт десятилетиями, а другая остаётся просто набором деталей. И в какой-то момент я поймал себя на том, что просто стою и слушаю. Наверное, я был первым посетителем тем утром, но дело было даже не в этом. Мне нравилось смотреть на человека, который настолько любит то, чем занимается. Он говорил о гитарах так, как другие говорят о любимых людях. И я вдруг подумал, что таких мест становится всё меньше. Может быть, мне только кажется, но современный мир всё чаще звучит иначе. Когда-то музыкантов узнавали по инструментам. У каждого была своя гитара, свой звук, своё лицо. Сейчас многое стало электронным, быстрым и удобным. А мне до сих пор ближе живая музыка. Та, в которой слышно прикосновение пальцев к струнам. Та, где есть небольшие ошибки, случайные шероховатости и дыхание человека. Наверное, потому что всё настоящее несовершенно. И именно поэтому живое. :::
А ещё мне всё чаще попадаются истории украинцев, которые уехали работать за границу: люди живут в машинах, вместе копят на квартиру, проходят через тяжёлую работу, постоянную усталость, бытовые сложности, но делают это вдвоём. И меня почему-то очень трогают такие вещи. Не успех, не деньги, а именно наличие рядом человека, с которым можно вместе идти к какой-то цели, даже через очень непростую жизнь.
Наверное, именно это я всё чаще начинаю ценить больше всего.
Не громкие слова.
Не достижения.
Не бесконечную гонку.
А возможность однажды просто сидеть рядом с кем-то вечером, смотреть на море, слушать ветер и понимать, что, несмотря ни на что, жизнь всё ещё продолжается.


Note translated in assistance with AI GPT

Hello to everyone who still reads me.

Sometimes it feels like there aren’t many people left, but perhaps that is exactly why I keep writing—not for grand ideas or important conclusions, but for the feeling that somewhere on the other side of the screen there is still someone willing to pause for a few minutes and simply share a fragment of another person's life.

A few days ago, I managed to escape to a very quiet place above the sea. There are almost never any people there—only distant echoes of music drifting up from restaurants below, the sound of cars passing along the road above, and the wind that endlessly wanders along the slopes. I sat in the tall grass watching the evening slowly arrive. First, the sky softened. Then the first stars appeared, followed by satellites and moving lights along the horizon. Back in 2022, every moving light in the sky seemed threatening, something that made your chest tighten instinctively. Now the sky is so crowded with those tiny points of light that it feels almost alive, as if it is constantly moving, breathing, changing, dancing.

Unexpectedly, I was joined that evening by hedgehogs. Ordinary little hedgehogs rustling through the grass beside me. They didn't run away. They simply snorted, shuffled around near my feet, and seemed to be waiting for something. I happened to have strawberries with me and shared them, even though I know perfectly well that hedgehogs would probably prefer meat. Yet somehow it felt exactly right—sitting above the sea, listening to the distant sounds of the city, and feeding strawberries to small prickly creatures that had, for reasons unknown to me, decided to spend the evening nearby.

Lately, I often catch myself wanting to take my laptop somewhere and simply write among people while remaining alone. There is a café in Odesa called "Introvert," and for some reason I keep thinking about it. Maybe it is the name itself. One day I would like to sit there by a window with a strong cup of coffee, open a blank page, and finally write something real—not at home, not between phone calls and responsibilities, but from a different state of mind altogether.

And for some reason, that same evening I found myself thinking again about the story of Buran. The Soviet space program that was created as an answer to the American Space Shuttle. Fifteen years of work. Thousands of engineers. An entire country building a spacecraft designed to travel into space and return home. Buran successfully completed its one and only automated flight. To transport it, the An-225 Mriya was built—the largest aircraft ever constructed.

The irony is that none of it was needed in the end.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the program died. The shuttle sat abandoned inside a hangar until, in the early 2000s, the roof simply collapsed on top of it. So many years of work. Dreams. Human belief. And at some point it all became little more than archived photographs and fading memories.

Perhaps that is why it frightens me to see how quickly people devalue the past, the sacrifices of others, entire generations, and even pain itself. There was a time when May 9th was regarded as sacred by almost everyone. Today attitudes have changed beyond recognition, yet many of the people who actually lived through that war are still alive. There are very few of them left. And perhaps one of the most painful experiences in life is realizing that what you lived through is slowly becoming irrelevant or forgotten. I know what it feels like to be diminished. And I know how heavy that feeling can become.

Yet life, strangely enough, keeps holding on through the simplest things. The other day I spent hours wandering through second-hand stores again. There is something almost childlike about it—moving from one shop to another, searching through hundreds of forgotten items, looking for something that somehow feels like yours. In the end, I bought five things for the price of a single new T-shirt. Naturally, among them were a couple of stuffed animals because, for reasons I still don't fully understand, I continue to love them. Perhaps what I enjoy isn't the purchase itself but the search—the feeling of a small adventure where you unexpectedly stumble across something that brings genuine joy.

Afterward there was the market, fresh vegetables for soup, an ordinary evening, and the smell of basil, celery, and summer air drifting through the window. Somewhere in the middle of all that, I finally got around to repairing my guitar.

Soon it will be alive again.

That guitar is more than twenty years old. I bought it after saving money for a very long time to afford my first real instrument. Over the years, cities changed. Jobs changed. People came and went. Life itself changed. Yet somehow that guitar remained. Perhaps that is why I can never think of it as just an object.

When I went to pick it up from the music shop, I ended up staying there for almost an hour. I've always loved places like that. Music stores rarely attract random people. Most of the people there genuinely love what they do. They're creative, slightly eccentric, and often so passionate about their craft that they lose track of time completely. The young man behind the counter didn't simply hand my guitar back to me. He started talking about tiny electric ukuleles, compact bass guitars, unusual new models that had recently arrived. The conversation drifted toward different types of wood, how they shape an instrument's sound, why one guitar seems to develop a soul over decades while another remains little more than assembled parts.

At some point I realized I had simply stopped talking and was listening.

Perhaps I was his first customer that morning, but that wasn't really the point. What fascinated me was seeing someone who genuinely loved what he did. He spoke about guitars the way other people speak about those they love. And suddenly it occurred to me that places like that are becoming rare.

Maybe it's just me, but the modern world seems to sound different now. There was a time when musicians were recognized by their instruments. Everyone had their own guitar, their own sound, their own identity. Today so much has become electronic, convenient, and immediate. Yet I still find myself drawn to live music. Music where you can hear fingers brushing against strings. Music that contains tiny imperfections, rough edges, and the breathing presence of another human being.

Perhaps because everything truly alive is imperfect.

And that is exactly what makes it real.

Lately I also find myself noticing stories of Ukrainians who left to work abroad. People living in cars together, saving for apartments, enduring difficult jobs, exhaustion, and endless everyday struggles—but doing it side by side. For some reason those stories move me deeply. Not because of success. Not because of money. But because there is someone beside them. Someone with whom they can move toward a goal together, even through a difficult life.

Perhaps that is what I value more and more these days.

Not grand words.

Not achievements.

Not endless striving.

But the possibility of simply sitting beside someone one evening, looking out at the sea, listening to the wind, and understanding that despite everything, life is still moving forward.

June is here!

Jun. 2nd, 2026 12:40 pm
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[personal profile] conuly
Yay!

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Posted by Amanda

An Academic Affair

RECOMMENDED: An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister is $2.99! Thank you to everyone who let us know about this one. Lara reviewed it and gave it a B+:

Overall, this is enemies-to-lovers done right with the best reason for a marriage of convenience that I’ve ever read. The sadness, though, is still sitting with me the next day. For me, that type of emotion in a book really lingers while the sharp emotional high of an HEA is over pretty quickly. So do take that into account when considering this book. Mileage might vary.

From the “masterly” (The New York Times) Jodi McAlister, a charming new romance about two English professors who embark on a fake relationship…only to discover that it may be harder to pretend than they realized.

Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department thirteen years ago. Now that a highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry hits epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, while Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position.

When Sadie notices that the job offers partner hire, however, she hatches a plot to get them both the job. All they must do is get legally married. It’s a simple win-win solution but when sparks begin to fly, it becomes clear that despite their education, these two may not have thought this whole thing through.

Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Abby Jimenez, An Academic Affair pairs Jodi McAlister’s “smart, scorching, and emotionally resonant” (Freya Marske, author of A Restless Truth) writing and academic background to prove that she’s one of the smartest rom-com writers working today.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Worth Fighting For

Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto is $2.99! This is part of a series of Disney retellings as contemporary romances. I was super curious about this on on release as Mulan is one of my favorite Disney movies.

Laugh and swoon with the next book in Disney’s Meant to Be collection by bestselling and award-winning author Jesse Q. Sutanto, whose novel Dial A For Aunties Emily Henry called “Utterly clever, deeply funny, and altogether charming.”

Mulan is reimagined as a contemporary romance about family expectations, mistaken identity, and high stakes mergers—of both business and the heart.

As the right hand of her father’s hedge fund company, Fa Mulan knows what it takes to succeed as a woman in a man’s work twice as hard, be twice as smart, and burp twice as loud as any of the other finance bros she works with. So when her father unexpectedly falls ill in the middle of a critical acquisition, she is determined to see it through. There’s just one the family company in question is known for its ultra masculine whiskey brand, and the brood of old-fashioned aunts, uncles, and cousins who run it—lead by the dedicated but overworked Shang—will only trust Mulan’s father, Fa Zhou, with the future of their business.

Rather than fail the deal and her father, Mulan pretends she’s Fa Zhou. Since they’ve only corresponded over email, how hard could it be to keep things moving in his absence?

But the email leads to a face-to-face meeting, which leads to an invitation to a week long retreat at Shang’s family ranch. One meeting she can handle, but a whole week of cattle wrangling, axe-throwing, and learning proper butchering techniques, all while trying to convince Shang’s dubious family that this young woman is the powerful hedge fund CEO they’ve been negotiating with? Not so much—especially as she finds it harder and harder to ignore the undeniable spark between her and Shang.

Can she keep her head in the game and make her father proud, all while trying not to fall into a trough, or in love with Shang?

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Relationship Goals

Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley is $1.99! This is a fake dating romance between an athlete and an actress. I’ve heard it was inspired by Ted Lasso‘s Roy and Keeley.

Ted Lasso meets How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in this steamy sports romance about an infamous star soccer player who is forced to fake date a Hollywood starlet, only to develop real feelings for her—just as she learns he was pretending and vows to get even.

Abigail Hunt’s Hollywood dreams could best be described as slow burn…but she’s about to graduate from TV sidekick to dramatic actor. When the esteemed director of her breakout role suggests a deep dive for her part by shadowing the head of a struggling pro soccer team, she jumps at the chance to prove she’s ready.

Getting asked out by notorious grump and gorgeous star player Luke Wolfe wasn’t in the plan, but suddenly her research is getting a lot more…hands-on. Their relationship quickly sets social media on fire, and Luke seems determined to prove he’s more than his villainous reputation. But just when Abigail is happier than ever—her name in lights and her heart in good hands—the other cleat Luke’s been coerced into faking their relationship to improve the team’s ticket sales.

Furious, Abigail refuses to give Luke the satisfaction of dumping him—she decides to get even. Over-the-top dates, treating his games like fashion shows, and befriending the fan club he hates? Count her in. It’s only a matter of time until she pushes the right buttons.

She just didn’t expect him to keep putting up with it—or to say I love you.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

The Art of Theft

The Art of Theft by Sherry Thomas is $1.99! This is book four in the Lady Sherlock series, which is much loved on the site. Definitely try to collect them all if you can!

Charlotte Holmes, Lady Sherlock, is back solving new cases in the Victorian-set mystery series from the USA Today bestselling author of The Hollow of Fear.

As “Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective,” Charlotte Holmes has solved murders and found missing individuals. But she has never stolen a priceless artwork—or rather, made away with the secrets hidden behind a much-coveted canvas.

But Mrs. Watson is desperate to help her old friend recover those secrets and Charlotte finds herself involved in a fever-paced scheme to infiltrate a glamorous Yuletide ball where the painting is one handshake away from being sold and the secrets a bare breath from exposure.

Her dear friend Lord Ingram, her sister Livia, Livia’s admirer Stephen Marbleton—everyone pitches in to help and everyone has a grand time. But nothing about this adventure is what it seems and disaster is biding time on the grounds of a glittering French chateau, waiting only for Charlotte to make a single mistake…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Tip Toe Trailer

Jun. 3rd, 2026 05:39 pm
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[personal profile] feurioo posting in [community profile] tv_talk

From Russell T Davies comes Tip Toe, a gripping new suburban thriller set in Manchester, where neighbours Leo (Alan Cumming) and Clive (David Morrissey) find their lives pulled apart as prejudice, paranoia and radicalisation begin to poison everything around them.

Tip Toe starts Sunday 31st May on Channel 4.

Happy June!

Jun. 3rd, 2026 08:00 am
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Posted by SB Sarah

This piece of literary mayhem is exclusive to Smart Bitches After Dark, but fret not. If you'd like to join, we'd love to have you!

Have a look at our membership options, and come join the fun!

If you want to have a little extra fun, be a little more yourself, and be part of keeping the site open for everyone in the future, we can’t wait to see you in our new subscription-based section with exclusive content and events.

Everything you’re used to seeing at the Hot Pink Palace that is Smart Bitches Trashy Books will remain free as always, because we remain committed to fostering community among brilliant readers who love romance.

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[personal profile] oursin

What I read

Finished Persuasion - but felt a bit out of sync with the online reading.

Then I went on to something Entirely Different: my interest was aroused by [personal profile] rydra_wong posting about Rachel Rosen's Cascade (2022) and Blight (2025) (The Sleep of Reason, #1 and #2), so I went and discovered that the ebooks could be obtained directly from the small Canadian press in question. Got stuck into Cascade and while I would not have thought I was up for grim eco/magical dystopia with festering political intrigue before everything goes to hell, I was absolutely gripped.

Pretty much the only reason I then read LM Chilton, I Think We Should Kill Other People (2026) was I had finished that and had not yet downloaded Blight. This was a not entirely happy mashup of rom-com (this part I thought worked least well), serial killer, and version of 'cut-off country-house' mystery (small airport shut down in middle of snowstorm trapping relevant characters), with added 'reality tv show that includes AI setting' and 'comic intentions'.

On the go

Have now gone on to Blight and may be some time (these are not your slender novellas).

Up next

Alexis Hall, Father Material arrived this week; also KJ Charles, How To Fake It In Society is currently a Kobo deal so have also got that on the ereader.

Still have not yet got to Slightly Foxed, and the latest Literary Review recently arrived.

(no subject)

Jun. 3rd, 2026 10:05 am
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[personal profile] oursin
Happy birthday, [personal profile] pennski and [personal profile] threeringedmoon!

Links: Social Media, Royals, & More

Jun. 3rd, 2026 08:00 am
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Posted by Amanda

An illustrated image of a desk space with a computer, stack of books, reading glasses, and a mug.Happy Wednesday and welcome back!

Sibling visit and quality time has concluded! It was lovely and we played a lot of board games. My partner even ran a D&D oneshot for us. But…after almost a week, I’m definitely glad to get back to my normal routine. (Namely, commandeering the guest bathroom to take bubble baths.)

Do you have a favorite way to ease back into your routines after guests?

Sarah was recently on the Off with Their Headlines podcast to discuss royal romance tropes and British tabloid bingo! You can watch the episode on YouTube or listen at wherever you get your podcasts.

I keep hearing about Roost Social and I want to try it so badly! It’s a social media messaging app where your messages travel at the same rate of a pigeon (or animal of your choice). I saw some posts on Threads where people are writing as if they’re in a period drama.

This link came from Italapas in the SBTB podcast patreon discord. An aromantic sci-fi and fantasy anthology is up on BackerKit. It’s about 60% funded with a little less than a month to go.

From Emily: This is a 10-minute piece from the BBC in 1970 called “1970: The Men Who Churn Out Romantic Novels”.

I think SBTB readers would be interested, both in the authors, and in the outdated publishing model of books published destined straight for libraries, not bookshops. There’s even a wee interview with Mr. Boon of Mills and Boon.

Don’t forget to share what cool or interesting things you’ve seen, read, or listened to this week! And if you have anything you think we’d like to post on a future Wednesday Links, send it my way!

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