February Inspiration Challenge for Black HIstory Month
Jan. 31st, 2026 01:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
petra
From a Tumblr post by ![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
petewentzisblack1312, quoted in full for people who don't Tumbl:
heres my challenge to everyone for next month, for black history month. any time you want to draw inspiration from art, like poetry, music etc, pick a black artist. web weave with langston hughes and james baldwin and jamaica kinkaid and hanif abdurraqib and derek walcott and set your edits to meghan thee stallion and beyoncé and eartha kitt and coltrane and invoke basquiat in your art and it can be fanworks or original stuff and importantly, it doesnt have to be about race. obviously be cognizant of the context of the art youre using because a lot of the artists i mention specifically create art about racism but like. take your white doomed yaoi ship and make a webweave to poem by langston hughes. set an edit to body by meghan thee stallion. engage with black art in all contexts.
Check the post's tags out for suggestions of artists to explore!
heres my challenge to everyone for next month, for black history month. any time you want to draw inspiration from art, like poetry, music etc, pick a black artist. web weave with langston hughes and james baldwin and jamaica kinkaid and hanif abdurraqib and derek walcott and set your edits to meghan thee stallion and beyoncé and eartha kitt and coltrane and invoke basquiat in your art and it can be fanworks or original stuff and importantly, it doesnt have to be about race. obviously be cognizant of the context of the art youre using because a lot of the artists i mention specifically create art about racism but like. take your white doomed yaoi ship and make a webweave to poem by langston hughes. set an edit to body by meghan thee stallion. engage with black art in all contexts.
Check the post's tags out for suggestions of artists to explore!
January 2026 in Review
Jan. 31st, 2026 11:01 amjames_davis_nicoll
Another year begins! I have a new In Review banner image!
The first new project this year is Homeward By Starlight, which will review twelve of Poul Anderson’s most notable short works.
January 2026 in Review
Books Received, January 24 — January 30
Jan. 31st, 2026 09:20 amjames_davis_nicoll
Ten books new to me. Five are fantasy, one non-fiction, two horror, one magazine, and I am not sure how to categorize the Tingle. Three are definitely fantasy.
Books Received, January 24 — January 30
Poll #34150 Books Received, January 24 — January 30
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 15
Which of these look interesting?
View Answers
The Wolf Queen’s Curse by Kaylee Archer (September 2026)
1 (6.7%)
Knight of the God King by Lauren Blackwood (October 2026)
1 (6.7%)
A Plagued Sea by Kim Bo-Young (August 2026)
8 (53.3%)
FIYAH Literary Magazine Issue # 37 published by FIYAH Literary Magazine LLC (January 2026)
8 (53.3%)
Among the Thorns by Jennifer K. Lambert (July 2026)
0 (0.0%)
Anne’s Cradle: The Life and Works of Hanako Muraoka, Japanese Translator of Anne of Green Gables by Eri Muraoka & Cathy Hirano (May 2021)
5 (33.3%)
To Vex & to Hex by Neena Noon (November 2026)
1 (6.7%)
Fear Farm by Vincent Ralph (September 2026)
0 (0.0%)
Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle (July 2026)
7 (46.7%)
Kokun: The Girl from the West by Nahoko Uehashi & Cathy Hirano (January 2026)
7 (46.7%)
Some other option (see comments)
0 (0.0%)
Cats!
13 (86.7%)
Every Speculative Fiction Book I Read This Year Featuring Queer Women, A List - 2025
Jan. 31st, 2026 01:07 pmaquila1nz
I read 24 books that meet the criteria in 2025, the same as last year. I'm reading less speculative fiction and some more mysteries, romances and historical fiction, and I struggled with reading print books towards the end of the year. And I'm pleased to get this posted just before January is over.
( Every Speculative Fiction Book I Read This Year Featuring Queer Women, A List - 2025 )
I'll follow up with a favourite books of the year post.
misc.
Jan. 30th, 2026 08:23 pmaethel1. I spent a week playing this categorization game at thomaswc.com: Make 45 groups of 45!
2. A Wikipedia spiral led me to read about James Reeb, a white Unitarian minister from Boston who joined the Civil Rights Movement and was murdered by white supremacists during the Selma marches. People then spread misinformation about the events leading up to his death and claimed that he was murdered by other civil rights workers. He would be 99 now if he had lived.
3. Books: Most recently I finished rereading Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov. I think it's the strongest of the original Foundation trilogy, and even Asimov's overuse of "men sit in chairs and explain things to each other" scenes worked for him--in one scene a succession of men explain a different contradictory theory of events to everyone else, only for all of them to be proven wrong in the next chapter. I also enjoyed the use of real-world parallels: thesis defense, World War II mobilization, nice Jewish couple from Brooklyn (my father had to point the last one out to me).
2. A Wikipedia spiral led me to read about James Reeb, a white Unitarian minister from Boston who joined the Civil Rights Movement and was murdered by white supremacists during the Selma marches. People then spread misinformation about the events leading up to his death and claimed that he was murdered by other civil rights workers. He would be 99 now if he had lived.
3. Books: Most recently I finished rereading Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov. I think it's the strongest of the original Foundation trilogy, and even Asimov's overuse of "men sit in chairs and explain things to each other" scenes worked for him--in one scene a succession of men explain a different contradictory theory of events to everyone else, only for all of them to be proven wrong in the next chapter. I also enjoyed the use of real-world parallels: thesis defense, World War II mobilization, nice Jewish couple from Brooklyn (my father had to point the last one out to me).
2026 52 Card Project: Week 4: Mourning
Jan. 30th, 2026 01:01 pmpegkerr
This is raw. You'll just have to deal with it, as we are living in extraordinary times here.
My brother came out to Minneapolis this past week from his home just outside New York City, as he does every couple months or so to see my 97-year old mother. The two of us went out for breakfast on Saturday morning. He asked me what it has been like.
I told him.
The two things I think that have shocked my naive white lady ass the most, I told him, is that we are under attack from our own federal government.
And that they are LYING so shamelessly and contemptuously about everything going on.
You think I would know better by now. I remember how everyone on the staff for my employer (the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) gathered in 2016 to listen to the verdict for the trial of the killing of Philandro Castile on the radio, and how shocked I was that Yanez was acquitted. And how even more shocked I felt when my Black co-worker said, "I'm not surprised in the least."
And in the years that followed, I started to better understand what she meant. When George Floyd was killed, I saw that cops lie about everything. I dove even harder into doing the work of deconstructing my own inner racism, which I had already started under the direction of my employer. I started to get a glimmer of what it might be like, from listening to Black activists in that aftermath, to live in a society where the government is absolutely not here to help or support you. They are here to attack and oppress you, and they will cut you down if you stand in their way.
But it is only the past couple of months that I have started to experience what it is like when the government's malevolence is turned on people exactly like me personally.
ICE vehicles race up and down the streets in my neighborhood, blowing through stop signs and red lights. Helicopters and drones hover in the sky over me. There are smashed cars all around me. And there are signs tacked on trees and fences reading, "Our neighbor was kidnapped here." One of those sites is a mere block away from me. Businesses I've frequented and loved for years are closing, unable to stay open in the face of the government's determination to kidnap their employees and ruin them.
When I went home after that breakfast with my brother, I learned of the death of Alex Pretti. I went by the corner where he was killed every time I went to work, just as I went by the place where Renee Good was killed.
That night, answering the call that went out on social media, my neighbors and I gathered on corners throughout South Minneapolis, carrying candles. I was a little late to join, as I was driving home, and I passed corner after corner where people were gathering. It was honestly so incredibly moving to see all those lights in the darkness held by people mourning and bearing witness. Hundreds of them.
I brought the candle that was lit at Rob's funeral. This was on Saturday, January 24. The eighth anniversary of Rob's death was on Monday, January 26.
God, I wish he were here with me, that I didn't have to go through this living alone.
I'm doing what I can. I won't say what specifically because we are at that point where we have to keep even constitutionally protected actions hidden from the government.
Sometimes I think that the only thing that keeps me going is knowing that the government (my own government) wants me to feel powerless and helpless and afraid. So I'm not going to be out of sheer spite.
My card this week is just one image, because sometimes one image says it all.
A woman bundled up in a winter coat stands on a street corner at night, holding a candle in a glass chimney.
Mourning
Click on the links to see the 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021 52 Card Project galleries.
My brother came out to Minneapolis this past week from his home just outside New York City, as he does every couple months or so to see my 97-year old mother. The two of us went out for breakfast on Saturday morning. He asked me what it has been like.
I told him.
The two things I think that have shocked my naive white lady ass the most, I told him, is that we are under attack from our own federal government.
And that they are LYING so shamelessly and contemptuously about everything going on.
You think I would know better by now. I remember how everyone on the staff for my employer (the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) gathered in 2016 to listen to the verdict for the trial of the killing of Philandro Castile on the radio, and how shocked I was that Yanez was acquitted. And how even more shocked I felt when my Black co-worker said, "I'm not surprised in the least."
And in the years that followed, I started to better understand what she meant. When George Floyd was killed, I saw that cops lie about everything. I dove even harder into doing the work of deconstructing my own inner racism, which I had already started under the direction of my employer. I started to get a glimmer of what it might be like, from listening to Black activists in that aftermath, to live in a society where the government is absolutely not here to help or support you. They are here to attack and oppress you, and they will cut you down if you stand in their way.
But it is only the past couple of months that I have started to experience what it is like when the government's malevolence is turned on people exactly like me personally.
ICE vehicles race up and down the streets in my neighborhood, blowing through stop signs and red lights. Helicopters and drones hover in the sky over me. There are smashed cars all around me. And there are signs tacked on trees and fences reading, "Our neighbor was kidnapped here." One of those sites is a mere block away from me. Businesses I've frequented and loved for years are closing, unable to stay open in the face of the government's determination to kidnap their employees and ruin them.
When I went home after that breakfast with my brother, I learned of the death of Alex Pretti. I went by the corner where he was killed every time I went to work, just as I went by the place where Renee Good was killed.
That night, answering the call that went out on social media, my neighbors and I gathered on corners throughout South Minneapolis, carrying candles. I was a little late to join, as I was driving home, and I passed corner after corner where people were gathering. It was honestly so incredibly moving to see all those lights in the darkness held by people mourning and bearing witness. Hundreds of them.
I brought the candle that was lit at Rob's funeral. This was on Saturday, January 24. The eighth anniversary of Rob's death was on Monday, January 26.
God, I wish he were here with me, that I didn't have to go through this living alone.
I'm doing what I can. I won't say what specifically because we are at that point where we have to keep even constitutionally protected actions hidden from the government.
Sometimes I think that the only thing that keeps me going is knowing that the government (my own government) wants me to feel powerless and helpless and afraid. So I'm not going to be out of sheer spite.
My card this week is just one image, because sometimes one image says it all.
A woman bundled up in a winter coat stands on a street corner at night, holding a candle in a glass chimney.
Click on the links to see the 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2021 52 Card Project galleries.
(no subject)
Jan. 30th, 2026 04:47 pmturpsNot going to lie, I'm sick of seeing the rain and grey skies. I mean, I keep seeing small signs of spring, like, the daffodils are pushing through in the garden, but right now the nicer weather feels far away.
Though, at least it's not as bad as Tuesday. There was a horrible storm that day, and I'd got ready for the gym, bag packed, water bottle full, everything, when the heavens opened, and it didn't stop lashing down with rain until the next day. So much so the toilet roof leaked again, which is always fun. A huge mature tree was also blow over close by, so I decided to stay home that day.
Rosie cancelled class on Monday, and then did the same on Wednesday, which is a shame. But, it's good she did as I had an appointment for my B12 injection before class. That usually takes less than five minutes and as the doctors is minutes away from the gym, the timing is usually perfect. But not this time, as I got there and was told I was having a bariatric review. Which I'll cut for as it mentions weight etc ( behind here )
When I left that appointment I went to talk to the receptionist to check my new below knee compressions had been ordered, and they hadn't. The receptionist wasn't happy at all, as this was 8 days after my lymph appointment and what is supposed to happen is the hospice sends the script and measurements to the doctor, who approves the order and sends it off to the chemist, who then send it off so the garments are made. What had happened is the doctor practice got the script, and then did nothing with it.
I've known the receptionist as long as I've been attending that doctors, so a very long time, and she promised she'd get things sorted, and must have done as I got a message from the practice manager the next day saying the script and measurements had been sent. But really, is it so hard to do things properly and now I'll have to wait longer for my jazzy new knee highs.
James has been back at work this week, which meant we were back to pre 6am starts. He was also supposed to take my youngest nephew to a football match early tomorrow, which would have meant another early start. But the tournament has been cancelled due to a water logged pitch, so lie in for me. That and a cinema visit for us I think. No idea what to see, but something will catch our eye.
Now though, lobster bath and book, make tea when James gets home from work, then new Starfleet Academny to watch, which has quickly become one of my new favourite shows.
Though, at least it's not as bad as Tuesday. There was a horrible storm that day, and I'd got ready for the gym, bag packed, water bottle full, everything, when the heavens opened, and it didn't stop lashing down with rain until the next day. So much so the toilet roof leaked again, which is always fun. A huge mature tree was also blow over close by, so I decided to stay home that day.
Rosie cancelled class on Monday, and then did the same on Wednesday, which is a shame. But, it's good she did as I had an appointment for my B12 injection before class. That usually takes less than five minutes and as the doctors is minutes away from the gym, the timing is usually perfect. But not this time, as I got there and was told I was having a bariatric review. Which I'll cut for as it mentions weight etc ( behind here )
When I left that appointment I went to talk to the receptionist to check my new below knee compressions had been ordered, and they hadn't. The receptionist wasn't happy at all, as this was 8 days after my lymph appointment and what is supposed to happen is the hospice sends the script and measurements to the doctor, who approves the order and sends it off to the chemist, who then send it off so the garments are made. What had happened is the doctor practice got the script, and then did nothing with it.
I've known the receptionist as long as I've been attending that doctors, so a very long time, and she promised she'd get things sorted, and must have done as I got a message from the practice manager the next day saying the script and measurements had been sent. But really, is it so hard to do things properly and now I'll have to wait longer for my jazzy new knee highs.
James has been back at work this week, which meant we were back to pre 6am starts. He was also supposed to take my youngest nephew to a football match early tomorrow, which would have meant another early start. But the tournament has been cancelled due to a water logged pitch, so lie in for me. That and a cinema visit for us I think. No idea what to see, but something will catch our eye.
Now though, lobster bath and book, make tea when James gets home from work, then new Starfleet Academny to watch, which has quickly become one of my new favourite shows.
Huh
Jan. 30th, 2026 11:06 amjames_davis_nicollA detail about the 2017 Hugo nomination long list I've never noticed before:
I checked and I did notice at the time James Nicoll Reviews was treated as different from me, but I seem to have failed to correct the typo for a decade.
I checked and I did notice at the time James Nicoll Reviews was treated as different from me, but I seem to have failed to correct the typo for a decade.
I'm doing it anyways because damn the man.
Jan. 30th, 2026 03:22 pmgoodbyebird
Snowflake Challenge is wrapping up today and awww, they didn't do the Make A Challenge thing this round. You know what, it's happening, can't stop won't stop.
Sooo... Supernatural, ey? This is what happens when you get a giga-fandom! (same thing giving me HR vid songs atm; shouting I don't even go here at my brain to no avail.
SPN has 139 entries tagged. Looking over potential rivals, television is at 92, assemble! 102, buffyverse 90, music 103, rec: vid 83.
Or do I hard mode it and go for IWTV? *g*
When you are logged in and go to Dreamwidth (home page), scroll down and you can see your tag cloud.
Are there any tags you feel don't represent you very well now? Are there tags you feel should be there?
Go into your tags, have a look at the numbers, and make a plan for 2026 to be the year you whip that cloud into shape 💪
Sooo... Supernatural, ey? This is what happens when you get a giga-fandom! (same thing giving me HR vid songs atm; shouting I don't even go here at my brain to no avail.
SPN has 139 entries tagged. Looking over potential rivals, television is at 92, assemble! 102, buffyverse 90, music 103, rec: vid 83.
Or do I hard mode it and go for IWTV? *g*
The First Thousand Trees (Annual Migration of Clouds, volume 3) by Premee Mohamed
Jan. 30th, 2026 09:03 amjames_davis_nicoll
A young man sets out to reinvent himself, far from home.
The First Thousand Trees (Annual Migration of Clouds, volume 3) by Premee Mohamed
podcast friday
Jan. 30th, 2026 07:05 amsabotabby There's not really a choice this week even though a ton of great podcasts came out. It's going to be the ICHH/Cool People crossover episodes, "Everyone vs. Ice: On the Ground in Minnesota" (Part 1, Part 2). Margaret and James go to Minnesota to cover the occupation and the resistance. It's recorded before the brutal filmed murder of Alex Pretti (but after the brutal filmed murder of Renee Good) so it's a little bit more upbeat than we're all probably feeling. But it's very much worth your time. They spend a lot of the episodes discussing the community organizing, both visible and invisible, and how previous movements and the nature of the communities there led to a leaderful uprising against some of the most overt repression we've seen in the heart of empire in decades. And the show notes are full of things you can do to help if you're not able to go there.
A young girl with eyes like the desert.
Jan. 30th, 2026 11:30 amgoodbyebird
+ Yesterday was rough. Just walking around vibrating, had a cry in the storage room, absolutely hated the feel of washing my hands. Extremely over-stimulated. People being around all the time, and complete disruption of routines will do that eventually, which I did not appreciate learning. Thankfully I got a full nights sleep after I dozed off - got a sleeping pill from my dad to help out, still my brain was trying to scrabble back awake several times before I succeeded.
Fishery is somewhat more decent yoday, god I hope that holds up. January is supposed to be prime fishing season 😤
+ Today is Festivids Go Live Day \o/ hopefully it opens up earlier in the day for me, I absolutely cannot allow myself shiny new vids late in the evening. I just get too worked up.
+ Discovered I'd left some small fandom icons behind at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
forsquares, including Borgen, so I have one more masterpost to put up before I move on to re-uploading the existing spankulert icon posts to Dreamwidth. Those random black images are really starting to piss me off.
+ Also toying with the idea of fiddling with my journal layout. Gotta admit I'm too old for the piddly font size at this point, le sigh. Could be better for mobile as well.
+ Decided that yes, I will make myself a mood theme when I get home, thank you very much. Probably IWTV, and just the top/base moods, as I'd like to incorporate s3 as well. Making gifs is absolutely not in my wheelhouse, but imma give it my all.
+ Ugh a mail about Susanne Sundfør concert happening when I'll be at sea. I am having a sulk about it. Raye is performing in Oslo a few days before I get home. My bad concert luck is not letting up boo.
Fishery is somewhat more decent yoday, god I hope that holds up. January is supposed to be prime fishing season 😤
+ Today is Festivids Go Live Day \o/ hopefully it opens up earlier in the day for me, I absolutely cannot allow myself shiny new vids late in the evening. I just get too worked up.
+ Discovered I'd left some small fandom icons behind at
forsquares, including Borgen, so I have one more masterpost to put up before I move on to re-uploading the existing spankulert icon posts to Dreamwidth. Those random black images are really starting to piss me off. + Also toying with the idea of fiddling with my journal layout. Gotta admit I'm too old for the piddly font size at this point, le sigh. Could be better for mobile as well.
+ Decided that yes, I will make myself a mood theme when I get home, thank you very much. Probably IWTV, and just the top/base moods, as I'd like to incorporate s3 as well. Making gifs is absolutely not in my wheelhouse, but imma give it my all.
+ Ugh a mail about Susanne Sundfør concert happening when I'll be at sea. I am having a sulk about it. Raye is performing in Oslo a few days before I get home. My bad concert luck is not letting up boo.