Icons Of Power

Feb. 25th, 2026 10:01 am
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[personal profile] poliphilo
 We were at a golf club the other day- one with Royal in its title (not the sort of joint we normally frequent) And halfway up the stairs was a copy of this portrait (though not with gettyimages printed accross it

Charles2008.webp

It's Charles Mountbatten-Windsor in all his glory, but  relaxed and at ease with his authority. Look how many medals he's won, and yet how approachable he is. This is exactly how the Mountbatten-Windsor dynasty wants us to see them.

Here's a more informal picture, but one that still conveys the desired message.

GettyImages-477232104-fc938d153df14025844aecaa810b4360.jpeg

Oh, but who's that chap in the identical get-up with whom the monarch is on such good terms?

Could it be this fella?

0_Jam_Press_JMP824981.jpg.jpg

Power curates its image very carefully and pictures like the above

Or like this....

https---d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net-production-3f68a153-30b2-40d0-9e79-0ada23ecca18.jpeg

Undo all the good work.....
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Carrie S

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.

Weeden vs the Empire

Feb. 25th, 2026 09:53 am
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[personal profile] steepholm
As a young man, Weeden II had been quite outspoken in his dislike for empire and his opposition to slavery, as evidenced in his Zimao, the African (1800) and his poetry collection, Bagatelles (1795), most notably in poems such as "The Slave", "The Indian Warrior, bound to the stake", "The Indian in Despair", etc. Even then, there are definite limits to his radicalism: Zimao the handsome maroon is paired with Wilmot, the "good" plantation owner, for example; the Indians are sympathetically depicted, but the manner of treatment owes a good deal to what we might call the noble savage aesthetic, and presents them as tragic, doomed figures, speaking using jarringly eighteenth-century poetic diction. (But then, no more jarring than when Tacitus makes the British leader Calgacus give an oration that would have been at home on the floor of the Senate - and what other diction did Weeden have access to?) Anyway, this is an aspect of Weeden I've always been fond of, and one thing I'd been wondering is whether his politics changed as he moved out of his twenties, as is so often the case.

Reading his letters from middle-age gives little clue as to that: they are mostly concerned with family and professional matters. But yesterday, I found this fascinating passage in a letter to his son Weeden III, written in his early fifties (on 13th July, 1824) about an event that I feel ashamed to say that I knew nothing about. I've included for interest the immediately preceding sentences about the recent deaths of Thomas Rennell (yes, I had to look him up too) and Byron (whom he evidently had little time for, perhaps because he'd been so mean to his little brother):

The deaths of Rennell & Byron form a contrast awful, improving, important. Yet, how few comparatively lament the one; how pompous & gorgeous are the outward demonstrations of grief for the other! But God seeth not as man seeth.

The death of the Queen of the Sandwich Islands bears a pathos which a poet might feel strongly. A child of nature sacrificed in a few weeks at the shrine of civilization & modern refinement! Change of habits of living, routs of plays & operas, in confined & scented rooms, with a smokey atmosphere, & and at midnight, lead us with ease to divine the powerful disease by which the denizen of pure regions fell. There is in truth the semblance of a mystery visible throughout the treatment of these honest Islanders, that awakens the warmest compassion for the fate of the departed & the liveliest sympathy for the embarrassments & difficulties of the living. “Rex et amicus appellabatur” is the political phrase explanatory of the system now pursued towards these people, to make them subjects to our power & interests & to withdraw them from the paws of the Russian bear.


"There speaks the author of the Bagatelles!" I cried as I read this. Still drenched in the language of noble savagery, admittedly, but still anti-imperialist in his instincts, or at least that's my reading. Never change, great-great-great Grandpapa.

If, like me, you need some of this historical context filling in, there's an account here (including pictures), but briefly, King Kamehameha II (aka Liholiho) and Queen Kamāmalu were visiting from the Sandwich Islands (i.e. Hawaii) when the Queen caught measles, quite possibly in Chelsea, and died a month later, on 5th July. The grief-stricken King also succumbed, dying on the 14th, the day after this letter was written.

Ironically, the captain of the ship that returned their remains to Hawaii was called George Byron - a cousin of the poet.

Code Tour: 2024-12-01 to 2026-02-25

Feb. 25th, 2026 12:22 am
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[personal profile] silveradept posting in [site community profile] dw_dev
Oh, hi, everybody! It's been a little bit since we did a code tour, hasn't it? But never fear, we're here to walk you through the changes that have happened since the last time we took a tour through the code changes in Dreamwidth.

Let's dive in, shall we?

Your code tour, with some attempts at arrangement by topic. )

There we go! Another year's worth of code commits, issues resolved, and attempts to make Dreamwidth a greater and cooler place to be. And to have it continue working into the future.

(We should do these more often, but volunteers and, well…*gestures broadly around*. So it may be a while before someone has the spoons to do this again, but we're always trying to be more consistent about it.)

Here are the totals for this code tour:

104 total issues resolved.
Contributors in this code tour: [github.com profile] Copilot, [github.com profile] alierak, [github.com profile] cmho, [Bad username or site: dependabot[bot] @ github.com], [github.com profile] jjbarr, [github.com profile] kareila, [github.com profile] l1n, [github.com profile] momijizukamori, [github.com profile] pauamma, [github.com profile] sirilyan, [github.com profile] zorkian
[syndicated profile] smartbitches_feed

Posted by Amanda

Hey all! We’re a little over halfway through our first ever SBTB Unhinged Bingo!

By now, you might have knocked out a few easier spaces, but if you’re having trouble, we’re here to help!

Here’s a card refresher:

This rendition of bingo is definitely a bit trickier and up for interpretation.

Are there any categories you’re struggling with? Let’s brainstorm in the comments!

the pitt; robby/abbot season 2 icons

Feb. 25th, 2026 12:00 am
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[personal profile] melroseee posting in [community profile] icons
[15] robby/abbot icons

thepitt-icon-003-08-100px thepitt-icon-003-012-100px thepitt-icon-003-013-100px

See the rest here.

the pitt; robby/abbot season 2 icons

Feb. 24th, 2026 11:58 pm
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[personal profile] melroseee posting in [community profile] fandom_icons
[15] robby/abbot icons

thepitt-icon-003-08-100px thepitt-icon-003-012-100px thepitt-icon-003-013-100px

See the rest here.

Photo cross-post

Feb. 25th, 2026 01:51 am
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[personal profile] andrewducker


Sophia spent a chunk of Monday evening writing up her half term week without having to. Her handwriting is already better than mine.
Original is here on Pixelfed.scot.

Dear High Adrenaline author

Feb. 24th, 2026 10:00 pm
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[personal profile] beatrice_otter
I use the same name everywhere so I am [personal profile] beatrice_otter on AO3. Treats are awesome.

I would rather get a story you were happy with than "well, she said she liked x, so I guess I have to do x even though I don't like x and/or am not inspired that way." This letter is long with lots of suggestions and preferences if you find it helpful, but feel free to ignore it if it is not helpful. I'm fairly easy to please; I've been doing ficathons for a long time and am usually very happy with my gifts.

The most important thing for me in a fic is that the characters are well-written and recognizably themselves. Even when I don't like a character, I don't go in for character-bashing. If nothing else, if the rest of this letter is too much or my kinks don't fit yours, just concentrate on writing a story with everyone in character and good spelling and grammar and I will almost certainly love what you come up with.

I have an embarrassment squick, which makes humor kind of hit-or-miss sometimes. The kind of humor where someone does something embarrassing and the audience is laughing at them makes me uncomfortable. On the other hand, the kind of humor where the audience is laughing with the characters I really enjoy.

General Likes and Dislikes )

The Swan )

Random Harvest )

Hobson's Choice )

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner )

Voyager )

Crossovers )

DS9 )

Star Wars OT )

Fandom for Robots )

Babylon 5 )


Cuddle Party

Feb. 25th, 2026 12:04 am
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Everyone needs contact comfort sometimes. Not everyone has ample opportunities for this in facetime. So here is a chance for a cuddle party in cyberspace. Virtual cuddling can help people feel better.

We have a cuddle room that comes with fort cushions, fort frames, sheets for draping, and a weighted blanket. A nest full of colorful egg pillows sits in one corner. There is a basket of grooming brushes, hairbrushes, and styling combs. A bin holds textured pillows. There is a big basket of craft supplies along with art markers, coloring pages, and blank paper. The kitchen has a popcorn machine. Labels are available to mark dietary needs, recipe ingredients, and level of spiciness. Here is the bathroom, open to everyone. There is a lawn tent and an outdoor hot tub. Bathers should post a sign for nude or clothed activity. Come snuggle up!

Safety

Feb. 25th, 2026 12:00 am
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Negative Social Ties as Emerging Risk Factors for Accelerated Aging, Inflammation, and Multimorbidity

Negative social ties, or "hasslers," are pervasive yet understudied components of social networks that may accelerate biological aging and morbidity. Using ego-centric network data and DNA methylationbased biological aging clocks from a representative Indiana sample, we demonstrate that negative social ties are surprisingly common: on average, one in four network members is described as a hassler, and nearly 60% of individuals report having at least one. Results show that having more hasslers is associated with accelerated biological aging, with the most pronounced associations observed among individuals whose networks comprise more than 50% hasslers. Crucially, not all negative ties show the same influence: ambivalent ties providing both support and stress show stronger aging acceleration than exclusively negative relationships. Beyond epigenetic aging, hassling exposure is associated with poorer self-rated health, higher levels of depression and anxiety, elevated inflammation, greater multimorbidity, and adverse anthropometric indicators. These findings together highlight the critical role of negative social ties in biological aging as chronic stressors and the need for interventions that reduce the impact of negative social stressors embedded within close social networks to promote healthier aging trajectories.


Loneliness may have high risks, but it is often better than being harassed or outright abused. It's nice to have positive social ties, but they only help if they really are positive.

(no subject)

Feb. 25th, 2026 05:49 am

onomatopoeia

Feb. 25th, 2026 12:00 am
[syndicated profile] merriamwebster_feed

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 25, 2026 is:

onomatopoeia • \ah-nuh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh\  • noun

Onomatopoeia refers to the creation of words that imitate natural sounds. It can also refer to the words themselves, such as buzz and hiss.

// The author’s clever use of onomatopoeia delights children especially.

See the entry >

Examples:

“As they began to slurp, columns of noodles steadily streamed upward into their open jaws. The jazz soundtrack of Hiromi’s Sonicwonder playing ‘Yes! Ramen!!’ was punctuated by a gurgling roar reminiscent of shop vacs inhaling shallow pools. ‘We call it ‘hitting the zu’s,’’ says Steigerwald, noting the reference to zuru zuru, the onomatopoeia for slurping ramen in Japanese comics.” — Craig LaBan, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 18 Jan. 2026

Did you know?

English speakers have only used the word onomatopoeia since the 1500s, but people have been creating words that imitate the sounds heard around them for much longer; chatter, for example, dates to the 1200s. Some onomatopes (as onomatopoeic words are sometimes called) are obvious—fizz, jingle, toot, and pop do not surprise. But did you know that other onomatopes include bounce, tinker, and blimp? Boom! Now you do. In fact, the presence of so many imitative words in language spawned the linguistic bowwow theory, which hypothesizes that language originated in the imitating of natural sounds. While it’s highly unlikely that onomatopoeia is the sole impetus for human language, it certainly made a mark, which is nothing to sneeze at.



Thank you for your input

Feb. 24th, 2026 11:21 pm
cornerofmadness: a young blond elf boy in gloves giving the thumbs up (Hunter thumbs up)
[personal profile] cornerofmadness
Thumbs Up to everyone who stopped by to let me know what you thought of my story (and if you want to read it, go back to yesterday). It's helpful. It helps the story form. It's a big week for me writing wise. I have two major open calls that open Saturday and I am set. I'm also trying to make a better record of all my unplaced stories along with word count/genre so I don't forget something.

It's also a very big week in terms of emotions. Friday is 5 years since I nearly lost my leg. That seems amazing.

Cancer is coming for another family member (which luckily is usually curable with surgery but still, fuck you cancer). Speaking of which I'm in the last days of my American Cancer Society read-a-thon charity drive. You can see more about it here.


As for Fannish 50 Tuesday it's THIS bullshit AGAIN. Creators being attacked, threatened, bullied. This past week, in a nutshell, Gooseworx, creator of The Amazing Digital Circus was in one of the livestream/video game plays this cast/creator loves to do and she mentions that Jax and Pomni are the main characters and people lost their fucking shit. They dragged her so hard over this, for daring to say who is the main character in this thing that they created but it didn't match their headcanons. She deleted the reddit account she used to interact with fans. A couple days later she apologized for not being professional in doing that.

I'm like maybe but I wouldn't say that. Why should you give fans access if they're going to be like this? And it's not just her. Vivzie who does Hazbin gets it like this all the time, Dana Terrace (the Owl House, Knights of Guinevere) does as well. Even Matt Braly (Amphibia) got slapped hard this past week. It culminated in Goose saying she doesn't want to touch her creation again once the last two episodes drop (something Dana Terrace did until this year, almost 4 years later with hers) and Glitch, the production company stepping in try to calm these people down.

If you're curious you can see Matt's thread here on twitter. What Glitch had to say is here.

and here are a few YT commentors who tend to have decent insights into things




and two from Ayy






Who would have thought I'd miss the toxicity of the Buffy days. At least it wasn't batshit crazy like this. And I truly miss the Prodigal Son fandom which was mostly (but of course not always) civil.
dialecticdreamer: My work (Default)
[personal profile] dialecticdreamer
Tuxedo’s Heaven
By Dialecticdremer/Sarah Williams
Part 1 of 1, complete
Word count (story only): 2029


:: Maylee is new in town, and when looking for a laundromat near her new apartment, she finds a tiny restaurant instead. Written for the February 2026 Feathering the Nest prompt call, from an idea suggested by [personal profile] siliconshaman, this story is posted for everyone to enjoy. My great thanks to him for the lovely idea! ::




Maylee trudged down the sidewalk, counting steps until she reached the corner and could peek at the map on her phone again. She’d been in the city four days as of ten o’clock last night, and it was increasingly important to find the nearest laundromat. The machines in the basement smelled of mold, and she was still taking antihistamines according to the too-cheerful chirps of her preset alarms. If she was still reacting tomorrow morning, she’d have to check her traveling funds and look up an urgent care close by.

She’d done it before, more and more often as the conditions at her old office had gotten worse. Being fired while in the process of pursuing complaints about the mold in the workplace had given her reason to move across the country, pretending that she was looking for a new adventure instead of abandoning a handful of acquaintances.

There hadn’t been anyone she knew well enough to ask the favor of driving her to the bus station.

She shook her head as if trying to fling the thoughts away.
Read more... )

Party time.

Feb. 24th, 2026 10:24 pm
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[personal profile] hannah
Between the train being a while and the train being delayed, I arrived just in time to be fashionably late: I walked into the party just as the guest of honor was being introduced. The woman of the hour, a newly published author, a friend of the people whose library I was hired to organize who decided to invite me to the book party as a parting gift. I was the last person to arrive and comfortably below the average age of the guests, and even recognized a handful of people from overlapping social Jewish circles. I felt nervous about being there until the man who was introducing the author talked about how her memoir was both nostalgic and sad, not a combination that comes up - and I waved my hand to get his attention, because I knew exactly what to say.

I quoted Anya Von Bremzen to say the phrase she used for that sensation was poisoned Madeline.

When I say the host, author, and room were suitably pleased and impressed at the phrase, that also says a lot about the rest of the guests at the party.

What's even better is that my interjection wasn't my high point of the party. As much fun as it was to be invited to that kind of thing, as deeply as I enjoyed putting some goat cheese inside dates for an amazing snack, I mostly attended to network. I knew my clients, I knew who their friends would be, and I worked that as much as I could. I introduced myself and said, "I'm the librarian." I explained how I'd come to be at the party. I hobbed, I nobbed, I was suitably impressive. I said, "My card," and handed over a business card. I commented to one of the hosts that if all that came out of it was being able to say I'd said "My card" it was worth the evening. It was an amazing feeling to do that. So very grown up.

I wore one of my nicer dresses, and it definitely helped me feel like I belonged there. After a while, the feeling simply settled in. I chatted about fiction, about the philosophy of library science and the psychology of letting go of books, about cakes and baking, about public transportation. I said cabs were the luxury of the people and that they were union. I joked about wanting to show off my party trick but since the party was over, too bad. I nibbled and had some wine, and took some grapes home at the hosts' insistence, though they didn't have to try very hard. I took a bike back instead of using the subway or walking, and it was the best way to come down from the elevated state. Not all the way down, though - it'll be with me for a while longer, and I'm doing what I can to savor it for as long as it lasts.

Daily Happiness

Feb. 24th, 2026 07:35 pm
torachan: a cartoon owl with the text "everyone is fond of owls" (everyone is fond of owls)
[personal profile] torachan
1. We had burritos for dinner, along with a pineapple tamale we had gotten from the farmers market on Saturday but hadn't eaten yet, and the tamale was so good! It didn't have chunks of pineapple in it, but rather was solid masa that was flavored with pineapple. Definitely would get that again. (The burritos were very good, too, but I got the one I always get from there, so I already knew I would like it.)

2. They've released the menu for the Food and Wine Festival at DCA, which is starting next Friday. There's a lot of tasty looking stuff and we'll miss out on about two weeks of it because we'll be in Japan, so I'm glad we'll have plenty of opportunities to go in March and then once we're back from Japan can pick up any must-tries that we didn't get to yet.

3. Last nigh Chloe was all snuggled up on my bed when I wanted to go to sleep, and sadly not in any way that I could get in bed with her, so I just scooped her up, blankie and all, and set her down on my desk chair. She protested when I moved her, but seemed satisfied with the results. She stayed snuggled up on the chair for a couple hours anyway!

Peppers, rain, greenhouse, Henry St

Feb. 24th, 2026 06:07 pm
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[personal profile] ranunculus
Today was pepper planting day.  Varieties are: Lively Italian (my favorite sweet pepper), King of the North (bell), Jalapeno Black Magic, Paprika, Pimento Sheepnose, Golden Treasure (sweet, Italian style).  I need to get Poblano seeds.  No, I'm not a hot pepper fan!Read more... )

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