#summer 2024 project

[pockymun]

2024 Garden - Week 6 (July 14-20)

More foliage and fruit growth! I can really see where the tomato plants are vining, but they will just have to deal with their cages. Budget constraints. Thankfully they're still giving the carrots some space.

One green bean plant is reaching for the sky. The other fell and started to twist around itself. Still no beans on them.

The dill is still coming on strong. I planted more on Wednesday night (in the rain) for successive sowing. Still nothing for basil and oregano though.

One jalapeno was ready for harvest this week! Another will will be ready next week, and another the week after that. I don't mind this.

The cucumber plants became a big problem though, spilling out into the aisle, taking up the whole bed, and strangling the cilantro plant. Even the chamomile started to wilt a little. All of this foliage hid growing cucumbers!

On top of being strangled, the cilantro plant was getting scorched in the hot weather. I haven't watered it because none of the other plants have needed water with the consistent rain we've been getting. That it bolted in the first place didn't help. I've already harvested so much cilantro from it (more than I'll use in a year), so if it doesn't recover, I won't be upset about it. More room for the dill or carrots.

Still, the cucumber plants were becoming a problem. So yesterday morning before work, I did some pruning. I ended up being a little too enthusiastic with the pruners. I cut the plants down to half their size, and ended up two minutes late to work. But there was a noticeable difference in the chamomile when I returned after work.

I cut back so many stems on the cilantro plant that looked too burnt to recover. Again, maybe I was too enthusiastic with the pruners. There was some new growth, but clearly the plant was too big to support itself. I saved the best-looking stem. I'll give it some time to recover.

Carrots and dill are still doing their thing. The green bean plant is reaching even higher into the sky, to the realm of giants. I should bind the second green been plant to its pole next time I visit.

I think this is an oregano plant, but it could also be a weed? I just want some other herb to grow besides the dill.

The tomato plants continue to reach further out. They might be next to get pruned. The fruits are still green, but they're putting weight on!

And finally, this week's harvest! A couple cucumbers got bigger than they should have, because I couldn't easily see them on the plant! Probably should have left the biggest one on the vine to get overripe so I can harvest some seeds for next year, but I needed enough cucumbers for pickling this weekend. I found a book at the library specifically for small batch preserving, so we'll see how it goes!

[meep-moops-stuff]

In regard to my most recent post…would you guys be interested in me writing a found father/daughter trope story w/ Sid? I have ideas and have no where to share them but don’t want to share if no one wants to hear them lol.

[xx-disco-inferno-xx]

new diy idea

homemade air raid siren

[w1f1n1ghtm4r3]

anhane week day 2 (seasons) - filling in a photo album of memories

[godbirdart]

today is the first day in a very very long time that i woke up on one of my scheduled days off and didn't feel the Work Panic set in and it's... very surreal. things are quiet. i feel like i could actually read the books i bought months ago or work on the personal projects that got sidelined last year.

not going to elaborate more beyond "working a bit too much overtime and now a year's gone by somehow" but wow,,, maybe i will do an activity for me today ?? the possibilities ...

[cloth-fabric]

y project - spring rtw 2024

[qweenofurheart]

I’ve been thinking of making a zine about sports or tennis—not that i necessarily have a lot to write about—i want to make a booklet that’s similar to a photography book, but with drawings.

[aporeticelenchus]

Slightly More Opera Literate Summer 2024:

La Nozze di Figaro (aka The Marriage of Figaro; Mozart)

As part of Slightly More Opera Literate Summer 2024, I'm going to do write-ups with summaries + highlights of some of the operas I've seen. Join me in learning about stuff, or come see what I inevitably get wrong! (Apologies in advance for the fact that I Just Can't Handle adding correct diacritical marks; sorry, Italian.)

Let's start with famed comic opera La Nozze di Figaro, aka The Marriage of Figaro, aka Figaro. Music by Mozart, libretto by Da Ponte, and based off a play by Beaumarchais.

You can watch the whole opera subtitled in English on youtube here:

I haven't watched through this version and can't speak for it, but it looks good at a quick glance through!

Short Summary:

Opera Australia has a great 1 min summary I'm going to just post:

But if you prefer text, here we go.

Working class couple Figaro and Susanna are getting married, yay! Or maybe not yay, because Figaro's employer, Count Almaviva, wants to pressure Susanna into sleeping with him and is going to sabotage the wedding until she gives in.

Fortunately Susanna's lady, the Countess Rosina, is heartbroken by her husband's behavior and wants to help the happy couple. Figaro, Susanna and the Countess scheme to have the Countess catch the Count trying to cheat, so she can pressure him into letting the couple marry (and to be more faithful in future, maybe.).

At first they plan to have teen page Cherubino (who has a crush on every woman and is constantly getting caught in compromising locations) dress in drag and pretend to be Susanna. But when the jealous Count almost catches Cherubino half-dressed in the Countess rooms, they move to plan B. Susanna tells the Count she'll meet him in the garden that night, and she and the Countess secretly swap clothes so that the Count will have an assignation with his own wife.

IN B PLOT LAND, Figaro owes money to the lawyer Bartolo's somewhat elderly maidservant Marcellina, and he has to marry her if he can't pay up. But when Marcellina and Bartolo take Figaro to court it's revealed......that he's their long lost son! Marcellina and Bartolo recall their past love, and decide to have a double wedding with Figaro and Susanna.

Susanna and Figaro get married, but since she hasn't told him about the clothes-swap plan, he finds out just enough to think his wife is cheating on their wedding night. Fortunately he recognizes her when he approaches "the countess" - but the philandering Count, chasing "Susanna" through the garden, sees what looks like his wife embracing his servant. He flies into a rage...until his wife appears to join the chorus, and he realizes she was the "Susanna" he was wooing. He begs forgiveness and everyone decides to be happy. The end!

(Ok, that wasn't so short, but it's a four hour opera based on a play with a lot of moving parts!)

Fun fact! The original play was widely banned for having an aristocratic antagonist defeated by clever lower class heroes. Scandalous, class warfare, etc!

SOME HIGHLIGHTS: This is hard, because I honestly love almost all of this opera. But here are some of my favorite and/or the most famous bits. I've tried to pick out versions with English subtitles to make them easier to follow.

Cinque, Dieci, Venti (Act I)

In the opening number of the opera, we're introduced to Figaro and Susanna on the morning of their wedding day. Figaro is measuring out the space for their new bed while Susanna admires the cap she made for her wedding.

Get you a man who pick up your melody and sings with you about the sweet headdress you made.

Non So Piu Cosa Son (Act 1):

Pageboy Cherubino (traditionally a trouser role, i.e. a male character played by a woman) is having lots of confusing feelings! It's so hard to be a hormonal teen. He's flirting with Susanna, sighing about his adoration of the Countess, and asking for help after he got caught with the gardener's daughter by the Count. He pauses to condense all his Teen Feelings (tm) into an aria.

(The video quality on this one isn't great, but it's one of the few I found with subtitles and I love the singing).

Fun Fact! In episode 2 of the Jeeves and Wooster tv show, Tuppy Glossop drags Bertie to the opera to see the woman he's wooing. She's singing Cherubino, and we hear some of her Non So Piu.

Non Piu Andrai (Act I):

In a series of misunderstandings, the Count catches Cherubino hiding in Susanna's room...and realizes that he must have overheard the Count pressuring Susanna to sleep with him. The Count decides to get rid of Cherubino by giving him an army commission. Figaro secretly tells Cherubino to stay, then pretends to be very enthusiastic about Cherubino's future in the army.

Fun fact! This is the official march of multiple guard companies. Because it slaps.

Also fun fact: "Narcisetto" (diminutive of Narcisuss) makes me laugh.

Voi Che Sapete (Act II):

It's....Cherubino again! What can I say; he has the best arias. Cherubino reports to the Countess' rooms so that she and Susanna can give him a cross-dressing makeover. While he's there, the Countess asks him to sing the song she hears he's written. Similar themes to Non So Piu: Cherubino has Lots Of Feelings and wants to sing about them.

Fun Fact! In the 1996 Pride and Prejudice, Lizzie sings a bit of Voi Che Sapete, with English lyrics.

Sull'aria (Act III)

The Countess dictates a letter for Susanna to write to the Count, so that they can trap him with their clothes-swap scheme.

Fun Fact! This is the song that Andy Dufresne plays over the prison speakers in The Shawshank Redemption.

Crudel Perche Finora (Act III)

I feel like I should get something with the Count in here (plus Mozart composes great duets imo). Susanna approaches the Count to pretend she's given in to him. The Count wants to make sure Susanna really means it, while she struggles a bit playing along.

(General tw for any Count and Susanna scene; they all involve him being a creep while she has to kinda put up with it.)

Aaaaaaand no Act 4, sorry not sorry.

Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts!

[i-can-read-to-him]

Our talented server members are brewing up some wonderful things together! We've got lots of fantastic fics and art to look forward to. 💕

[trendfilmsetter]

Blumhouse Announces 6 New Games to kick off its interactive division at Summer Game Fest 2024

Sleep Awake

Fear the Spotlight

Crisol Theater of Idols 

The Simulation

Grave Seasons

Project C

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Joan E. Greve at The Guardian:

Summer Lee, a Pennsylvania congresswoman, easily beat back a primary challenge on Tuesday, delivering progressives one of their most significant victories yet of this election cycle as they brace for a wave of pro-Israel funding targeting pro-ceasefire candidates. The Associated Press called the 12th district Democratic primary at 9.21pm, roughly an hour and an half after Pennsylvania polls closed at 8pm ET. Lee defeated local council member Bhavini Patel, who had criticized the progressive “Squad” member over her calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. Patel had pitched herself as a “pro-Biden Democrat”, suggesting she would better support the president’s agenda in Congress.

But Lee waved off that criticism, and she often pointed to the $1.2bn in government funding she delivered for her Pittsburgh-based district over her first term as evidence of her legislative effectiveness. “I am so humbled and proud to win my first primary re-election to be the congresswoman for this incredible district I’ve spent my life fighting for,” Lee said in a statement celebrating her victory. “Our campaign was built on a record of delivering for our democracy, defending our most fundamental rights, and expanding our vision for what is politically possible for our region’s most marginalized communities.” That argument appeared to sway many of Lee’s constituents as well as local Democratic leaders. In February, the Allegheny county Democratic party formally endorsed Lee for the first time, after the group backed her rival in the 2022 primary.

Lee’s 2022 primary made national headlines because of the involvement of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac). According to OpenSecrets, the Super Pac United Democracy Project, which is affiliated with Aipac, spent a total of $3.3m against Lee in 2022. She ultimately defeated her opponent, Pittsburgh attorney Steve Irwin, by less than 1,000 votes, or 0.9 points. This year, progressives largely expected pro-Israel groups like UDP to again invest heavily in attack ads against Lee. But surprisingly, they chose to stay out of Lee’s primary, a choice the congresswoman’s allies credited to her popularity and legislative record. Despite the absence of the pro-Israel lobby, one Super Pac did get involved in Lee’s primary to boost Patel’s campaign. The Moderate Pac, which aims to support centrist Democrats and is largely funded by Republican megadonor Jeffrey Yass, spent more than $600,000 supporting Patel. Lee and her allies turned Yass’ involvement in the race into a campaign issue, lambasting the billionaire’s Super Pac contributions.

[...] Although UDP opted to stay out of Lee’s race, progressive leaders believe her successful campaign strategy could still be instructive for other pro-ceasefire lawmakers expected to be targeted by pro-Israel groups in their primaries. Aipac and its political affiliates reportedly plan to spend $100m this election cycle, after pouring nearly $50m in to the 2022 midterms. At least two other “Squad” members, Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri, have already attracted primary challengers, and Aipac has already endorsed their opponents. Lee alluded to Bowman and Bush on Sunday, telling supporters that her victory would reverberate around the country.

AIPAC and pro-Israel Apartheid groups got handed an L last night, as incumbent pro-Gaza Ceasefire progressive Dem Summer Lee holds on in the PA-12 primary, fending off Bhavini Patel.

[pockymun]

2024 Garden - Week 7 (7/21-7/26)

Quiet start to the week. The cucumber plants have started to climb their trellis, slowly. There were more small cucumbers , but nothing big enough to pick.

Both green bean plants have reached the top of their poles, and started to climb back down. No beans yet, though.

The tomato plants have started getting really big. They have big fruits, too, but no hint of red yet.

The dill have been putting on a lot of foliage--I might get some seed heads next week! The cilantro plant seems to be done; I'm waiting for it to dry out for good before I try to harvest seats. The carrots are persisting behind the tomato plants.

The jalapeno plants are beginning to produce more and more, although they're not very tall.

I checked back on Wednesday morning, mostly to see how many cucumbers would possibly be ready for canning this weekend. On Wednesday morning, there were only 3-4 medium cucumbers, which I planned to just leave on the vine for another week. What was more concerning was the discolored leaves.

The tomato plants have started to crowd the carrots and the green beans next to them. They definitely need to be on a trellis next year.

The green bean plants have started to put on more foliage, which hopefully means green beans soon! It seems that the jalapeno plants will have one harvestable jalapeno a week. Even so, I don't know what to do with all these jalapenos.

We had heavy showers on Wednesday, along with the rain on Tuesday and Thursday. As before, the cucumber plants exploded in growth, except this time they grew fruits instead of foliage! The leaves continue to yellow and have white/gray spots on them. I pull them off as I see them.

The tomato plants started to have yellow leaves with brown spots, too. I pulled a bunch off. I hope it's just that the leaves weren't getting enough sun because there's so many of them. The fruits continue to get bigger, but are still green.

The tomato plants have begun to really crowd the carrots. One vine on the ground has even grown root feelers. I'm interested to see what this will do, but I need to defend my carrots!

Green bean plants have made bigger leaves, but still no beans! Maybe next weekend I'll see some. My supervisor at work apparently already has been picking beans off of her plants.

The dill continue to get bigger, and look like they might put out flowers next week!

Lastly, the harvest! Like I said before, Wednesday morning looked like there wasn't going to be enough to harvest for canning this weekend. Since then, the plants have taken that rain and made 7 large cucumbers! And the weekly jalapeno, of course. I will be canning after all!

One cucumber did get stuck in between the chicken wire, leading to a split appearance. It was better to harvest it sooner than later. I have another medium cucumber on the vine that I think I will let overripen, so I can harvest seeds for next year.

I'm going to be swamped when those tomatoes start turning red.

[starspatter]

Happy 10 years since MCA.

[you-are-my-neverland]

writeblr introduction

this is my fifth-hundreth time doing this, but i wanted an easy introduction that i could update without many frills, so here goes.

introducing....me!

online, i go by star! (she/her)

college student majoring in foreign langauges, with a chinese (mandarin) concentration and a linguistics minor

i hope to go into literary translation of some sort, but we'll see how it goes

in my free time, i like to watch asian dramas, listen to music, and read; i also dabble in video editing

i talk about the above and more on my main @astarlightmonbebe, which i also follow from

when it comes to writing, i love reading/writing

character driven stories with lots of complicated relationship dynamics (give me more of we-used-to-be-close, estranged or otherwise multilayered found family/sibling relationships, fated to be but hate it, etc)

magical realism, especially coming-of-age

low or middle fantasy

lore/mythology/religion (love folklore, legend, especially ones that change, grow, and are more real than they seem)

what i'm working on (current as of august 2024)

wip: godhood

naying yue’s father has been missing for three years. after stabbing her bff/lover in the eye and getting expelled from college, she decides to celebrate her twenty first bday by killing herself. however, her plans are derailed when she is attacked by monsters, rescued/kidnapped, and told her father abducted her as a young child, and that her real identity is the heiress to a powerful family who is part of the mysterious Outsider World…

new adult low fantasy inspired by/incorporating wuxia elements

drafting book one right now; will likely be at least three books if i get there

comic sans ppt

other ideas bouncing around

a high school sports wip revolving around a sport called cyclone, where biking meets medieval jousting to create a very metal sport. gil reyes, once a cyclone prodigy and now on limited time, finds himself dumped and kicked out of his cyclone crew. a street tournament with a cash prize and a claim to fame leads to him starting his own crew, recruiting the scholarly sprinter, aadya; high school dropout and underground stunt rider/racer, yama; the duo of sprinter winnie and bruiser jade; a rural girl with brute strength and a boxer’s instincts, elle; and a brilliant time trialist who knows nothing about cyclone, pazu.

paper tigers

status: constantly rotating around in my head on a hot plate

when moonlil acang's father, the warlord of the north, dies in a violent explosion of which the only survivor is a mysterious girl he has apparently brought back from the mountains, moonlil is forced into a position he's never wanted. setting inspired by 1920s china/chinese history. featuring: grave robbery, complicated siblings, mythological elements, and a dose of revolutionary, imperial, and military politics.

the phosphene phenomenon

status: sketching out the details, potentially plotting

three years after witnessing a total solar eclipse and falling into a coma, diyu wakes up to find himself with New Eyes and a ghost attached to him. lalita's been dead for years, but she knows nothing but her own name. tasked by death to help other spirits move on before she, too, can find her afterlife, lalita and diyu have no choice but to team up, along with sunny, the one person diyu has never been able to stand. featuring: a super intense rivalry (swear), self discovery journeys, ghosts and mental illness, agents of death, and so on.

previously on here i’ve successfully completed the first drafts of two wips, fairbone and the metamorphosis of the lost (tmotl), which still occasionally pop up.

i’m not always the most active, especially during the school year, where my focus is on trying to write a few words a day if any at all, but i’m always excited to hear and interact with other’s work!

[mihai-florescu]

This really was our yumenosaki academy♡

[paulgadzikowski]

at my post