spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
[personal profile] spiralsheep
It's not possible for me to keep track of the hundreds of political prisoners terrorised by dictatorial authoritarian Keir Starmer and his Starmtroopers for terrible crimes such as sitting peacefully in public holding a cardboard sign opposing the nation state of Israel's ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Palestine. Of course, Starmer has a long record of abusing his positions of power to persecute his political enemies, such as mildly left of centre Jewish members of the Labour Party whom Starmer disproportionately targeted for removal from the party - no other Labour party leader has intentionally silenced so many Jewish voices (and the Starmtroopers' obsessive misogynoir goes without saying).

Full text of a news article for archiving purposes. The Sky News headline covering the same events is "890 people arrested at Palestine Action protest - including 17 on suspicion of assaulting police officers" although I note the only evidence of violence produced so far demonstrates police violence against members of the public (oddly police almost never arrest themselves for violently assaulting the public with batons). All the usual respected international human rights organisations continue their support for Keir Starmer's political prisoners and also for the millions of victims of the nation state of Israel's ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Palestine.

Kerry Moscogiuri of the human rights campaign group Amnesty International UK said: “When the government is arresting people under terrorism laws for sitting peacefully in protest, something is going very wrong here in the UK.”
“Criminalising speech in this context is only permitted when it incites violence or advocates hatred. Expressing support for Palestine Action does not, in itself, meet this threshold.”
Although I note that many of the people arrest were expressing support for "Palestine action" or "palestine action", neither of which is afaik an arrestable offence (unless onerous bail conditions have previously been imposed, probably illegally, by the police or another abusive institution).

Police Fail to Arrest Two-Thirds in Biggest-Ever Protest Against Palestine Action Ban
‘A huge embarrassment.’
by Harriet Williamson
7 September 2025

An estimated 1,500 people in London have taken part in one of the largest acts of mass civil disobedience in British history, to protest the ban on Palestine Action. The Metropolitan Police arrested just over half of them, in what has been described as a “huge embarrassment” for commissioner Sir Mark Rowley. 

At 1pm on Saturday, more than 1,300 protesters, the majority of them over 60 and some visibly disabled, sat down in Parliament Square and wrote “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine action” on cardboard signs. By 9:15pm, the Met said officers had managed to arrest “more than 425” and called its operational plans “effective” – despite having failed to arrest everyone, as it had claimed it would.

Archived news article. )
musesfool: a loaf of bread (staff of life)
[personal profile] musesfool
Despite getting a late start all weekend and being distracted by a new matching game on my phone (I can lose hours to these stupid games), I got some good cooking done!

Yesterday, I made garlic & mozzarella milk bread (pics), which turned out quite well even though I forgot the salt due to its weird placement in the recipe (in theory I understand why it is where it is, but in practice it makes no sense to do it that way), but I used salted butter, so I don't think I missed it, and the bread rose just fine.

This afternoon, I finally made this strawberry cheesecake since my cream cheese was well past its use-by date and my heavy cream was getting there! It's still chilling, but when I licked the spatula after pouring the filling into the pie plate, all I really tasted was the five-spice powder. Which I like! But it's not what I would expect given the amount of freeze-dried strawberry powder in it. I guess we'll see how it goes when I cut into it tomorrow. (I also have this issue with nutmeg - even when I try to go easy on it in something, it still is frequently the only thing I taste after using it. I don't know why!)

And then I finally got up and made meatballs with oregano and red wine vinegar to have for lunch during the week. This was a method my grandmother used to use, and it is a great way to eat meatballs (or veggies - she also used to make it with zucchini, and I imagine you could do other types of squash or eggplant this way) - you make and cook the meatballs and set them aside. Then you saute onions in some olive oil (or in the beef fat left if you've fried your meatballs - I do mine in the oven, so I just use oil) and lower the heat and let them caramelize a bit, then you put the meatballs back in, sprinkle about 1/8 cup of dried oregano over them, and then pour in 1/3 - 3/4 cup of red wine vinegar. Be careful as billows of deliciously pungent smoke will rise from your frying pan at that point! Then lower the heat and let it all simmer for 10 or 15 minutes. Good both hot and at room temperature! (I haven't made it with zucchini myself, but for that, you slice and fry or bake your zucchini, and then continue on with the onions/oregano/vinegar as described.)

I have taken the garbage out and started the dishwasher, so now I am prepared for the awfulness of Sunday night. Sigh.

*
spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
[personal profile] spiralsheep
- Word of the season: aftermath, meaning the second growth spurt plants in temperate climates have, after the dry season, when rain and nourishment become more available again.

- Pleasing occurrences and habitat improvements overlap:
me me )

That sort of person

Sep. 7th, 2025 11:51 am
naraht: Moonrise over Earth (Default)
[personal profile] naraht
I had a visitor this week: a very earnest German Shakespeare scholar and teacher who I met last year on a writing retreat. She was swinging through Oxford to attend a conference and stayed in my guest room for a few nights.

When she came into my sitting room she first admired my bookcases, as one does, and then did a double take: "Oh! You have a really big television! What do you watch?"

"Cycling, mainly," I said, but this didn't help. Didn't compute. I could practically see steam rising off the top of her head as the gears clashed. And actually she's the second friend of mine who's been visibly perplexed by my TV.

No doubt they had assumed I'd be the sort of elitist literary snob who wouldn't allow such a thing into the flat. Whereas in fact I am such a massive elitist literary snob that I don't feel any lurking status threat from the presence of a 55" flatscreen. (Plus my favorite cycling commentator is a devoted fan of Fitzcarraldo Editions, so.)

Very minor anecdote but I've never seen anyone so obviously realizing in mid-stream that they'd gotten their assumptions about my preferences and habits all wrong. Do you ever find that you surprise people by liking something that you "shouldn't" like?
spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
[personal profile] spiralsheep
1. When did you "lose your innocence"?
I was skeptical with a tendency to cynical even as a child, but I'd also earnestly claim I didn't entirely lose my innocent approach to life fully until I was in my forties. (Yes, I'm ignoring any other connotations.)

2. Would you say you have an accent?
Everyone has an accent. I have three to choose from in my native language, and presumably "foolish foreigner" accents in all other languages I attempt, lol.

3. Do you hope to be married (married again if divorced)?
It's complicated but, yes, like most people I prefer having a life partner of some kind.

4. If you could take one technology to a desert island (the obvious satellite phone excluded), what would it be?
Hmm, depends on the type and position of the island but I'd choose whatever was most likely to get me back home safely, either transport or signalling. If I'm stuck there then I'll take a Star Trek style replicator, I suppose, although I'm not sure how those are supposed to work (presumably one has to feed in some sort of raw materials which might render it useless). So at the other end of the tech spectrum I'd want the most reliable low tech fire-starter (twisted firestarter...).

5. What is the last activity you bought a ticket for?
Boat trip to Ynys Echni, which is an island but neither deserted nor a desert. I like boat trips. :-) Before that would be a bus ride. My other regular tickets are train, museum / exhibition, and cinema.

6. Tell me all your most secret... tickets*? :D
* I'm assuming you all have accents and the sense to escape from a desert island. The state of your personal relationships with yourself and the world are your own business afaic. ;-)

I'm going there no more to roam

Sep. 4th, 2025 07:11 pm
musesfool: Joan looking annoying while Sherlock gazes soulfully at her (the tender gravity of kindness)
[personal profile] musesfool
There's so much TV coming back soon:

- the new season of Only Murders in the Building starts on 9/8
- the new season of Slow Horses starts 9/24
- the new season of Abbott Elementary starts 10/1

And it's not tv, but the new season of Batman: Wayne Family Adventures also starts 10/1 - there was a new mini episode last night, featuring Alfred being the best. <3

Meanwhile, I still have not watched:

- season 2 of Andor
- season 2 of Wednesday
- season 2 of Poker Face (though I did watch the first episode - the one with Cynthia Erivo, who was fantastic)

And of course, China Beach is finally available on a streaming service I do not have, and without some of the iconic music they used, but it would definitely be worth checking out if I wanted to pay for another streamer, which I don't.

Instead, I seem to have fallen into another Elementary rewatch. Despite some of the ghastly murders, it is a very comforting watch and I love Joan and Sherlock's relationship so much. And I might be feeling a Killjoys rewatch coming up soon too. I guess we'll see.

There are other shows I keep meaning to check out but have not as of yet - there is just too much to watch and too little time.

*

can't run out the clock

Sep. 2nd, 2025 09:25 pm
musesfool: orange slices (orange you glad)
[personal profile] musesfool
I made this sheet pan pancake for dinner last night (pic) and it was good, but I don't know that I'd call it a pancake - it is much thicker and not particularly fluffy. The texture is more "cake" than "pancake". But it was good with butter and syrup and will also provide several days of breakfast so I can't complain. It's super easy to throw together, too - no buttermilk needed. The handful of strawbs I had left had gone moldy in the fridge, but I had about 3/4 cup of frozen berries left in the freezer that I folded in and also about 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips that I sprinkled on top, so that worked out.

*
musesfool: Stephanie Brown as Batgirl (can't hardly wait)
[personal profile] musesfool
The bbq yesterday was fun! Baby Miss L continues to be a character - she's a little awkward but she manages to get up and down steps now. In fact, she stood on the steps and was like, "Jump! Jump!" and we were like, " um, no, no jumping off the steps!"

Anyway, there were a lot of desserts, but the strawberry cake was enjoyed. It smelled fantastic and tasted good too.

In other news, I did the August recs update earlier:

[personal profile] unfitforsociety has been updated for August 2025 with 12 recs in 2 fandoms:

* 11 Batfamily and 1 Batfamily/Spider-Man crossover

***
spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
[personal profile] spiralsheep
- Current reading quote:
I was trying to maintain conversation as he rattled mugs and spoons, but I was incredibly distracted by a taxidermied wallaby staring blankly at me across the room. Eventually, unable to continue without acknowledging it, I said, 'Andy, there's a stuffed wallaby in your kitchen.'
Andy looked up from the kettle to the wallaby and laughed, 'He doesn't say very much,' he offered, before returning to the tea. No further explanation was forthcoming.

- Some people can't be helped, the map reading edition:
I offered to help direct a couple of all-day walkers, who were lost despite standing next to a literal signpost for their next destination. I showed them where they were on their map and explained verbally where they were going next. We were walking the same path for a short distance so I even walked along with them and pointed to each landmark on their map as we passed. I explained I would be taking an earlier footpath to the right that would cut out a small corner of their route and suggested they accompany me instead of walking slightly further and through a farmyard, but they declined. I repeated yet again that they should turn right through the farmyard and showed them on their map. I could hear them arguing when they reached the farmyard and I waited to see if they turned right and walked across the field below me but, no, they inevitably turned left away from the farmyard and 180 degrees opposite to their intended destination which was still some miles away over another ridge. One can only hope that when they reached the next inhabited road somebody with a sense of direction offered to drive them back to their car because I'm honestly not sure they were going to make it any other way.
[/possibly they have the opposite of whatever migrating birds have and Persistent Directional Wrongness is a disability but I feel it's more likely they were subjects of an Ancient Curse]

- Pleasing occurrences:
25: Serendipitous reading.
26: Had positive conversations with two neighbours met individually in town.
26: Found a very new book I wanted was unexpectedly on the shelves in a local library.
26: Decided to start a new reading challenge, an a-z type, which is my third set for this year as I'd completed the first and second by April.
27: Spotted new invertebrates in my garden.
28: Was treated to a vanilla soya milkshake and had a delightful flashback to the last time I ate vanilla ice cream which was in St Ives in Cornwall.
29: Had a very pleasant walk. Saw a new-to-me invertebrate in the meadow behind my house.
30: Productive day full of small satisfactions. :-)

Minor habitat improvements )
musesfool: Olivia Dunham, PI (there are blondes and blondes)
[personal profile] musesfool
All day on Wednesday, I thought it was Thursday, and all day yesterday, I thought it was today. But it was not! So I do have some Wednesday books posting to do, now on Friday!

What I've just finished
The Oleander Sword and The Lotus Empire by Tasha Suri, the second and third books in her Burning Kingdoms trilogy. Overall, I thought these two were much more engaging than the first book, and I wanted to know what happened next, but I wasn't blown away by them like I was by her Books of Ambha duology (which I highly recommend!).

Also I've read both Into the Riverlands and Mammoths at the Gate by Nghi Vo. I enjoy these novellas quite a bit and these two were wonderful. I especially liked the martial arts references in Riverlands and how Mammoths was about grief and stories, two of my favorite topics to read about!

What I'm reading now
The Brides of High Hill, the next Singing Hills Cycle novella by Nghi Vo. I've just started it but I'm enjoying it so far.

What I'm reading next
I am just happy to be reading at all so I cannot say! I thought the next Craft Wars book was out in September, but it looks like it's not until the end of October, so I guess we'll see!

Speaking of books, though, last night I watched the Netflix adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club and I enjoyed it - the casting is A++ for the most part (Helen Mirren is perfect as Elizabeth and Ben Kingsley is great as Ibrahim. And Pierce Brosnan remains ridiculously handsome.) - and I think 95% of the streamlining they did was fine, because there were a few two many twists and turns in the book, but spoiler for both book and movie ) I haven't read any of the other books in the series, though I'm sure I will eventually, but I hope it does well enough that they can make a few more movies with this set of actors.

Now I have to go take my strawberry summer cake out of the oven. I was invited to a cookout tomorrow at my sister's at the last moment, so I have to have a cake to bring!

*

"Giant" ebook sale, Aug 29th only

Aug. 29th, 2025 12:12 pm
starwatcher: Western windmill, clouds in background, trees around base. (Default)
[personal profile] starwatcher posting in [community profile] ebooks
 

"Giant" is their description, not mine, but they tout 1,500 books on sale.

Note that you can select different retailers in the top drop-down menu, and specific genres in the list to the left.

Sale ends at "midnight." They never say which midnight, but I suspect it's one of the U.S timezones, which are UTC-5 to UTC-8.

Pass this on wherever you like.

 
spiralsheep: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
[personal profile] spiralsheep
thefridayfive posted my questions this week so I suppose I'd better answer them, lol. As these represent some of my pet obsessions, the regulars already know what I'll say. Apologies for the repetitions.

I'm interested in all your answers as usual. )
I've upcycled a few things, often trash or charity shop finds, but usually as art rather than for practical purposes. The largest is a garden sculpture that looks like curling art nouveau plant stems with leaves, that I made out of part of an old metal bed head I hauled out of the community woodland when we were clearing the rubbish dumped there. One of my friends makes flowers out of charity shop glasses and plates. I have a couple of slightly broken antique bottles I'd like the tops ground off to make vases.

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