Came up with a name for the new kitten — Kiisu, which means “kitty” in Estonian.
… and finished grading for the semester!
… and finished grading for the semester!
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Oh my gosh what a cute kitty!!! They look so cozy!
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Positive of the day: seeing Sophia spam my dash with cute pics of kittens 
Neutral: surviving a hangover…
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I hope the hangover passes soon! You’d love my Pinterest recommendations and this one collection of pictures of kittens I keep on it.
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Just saw a new kind of fusion power tech explained here; what a time to be alive! I’m usually really skeptical about a most fusion reactor designs, but this one seems to solve a lot of the problems, and it works well enough that they’re able to get data on performance outside of the actual confinement chamber itself too, which is a huge step up.
Also, @anon66621404 will be pleased to know that the fusion reaction glows pink!
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This is the best news I’ve heard all day.
Edited to add: a goofy warmup doodle, since Joey’s message caught me just as I was opening up Pinterest to try to amalgamate some references into a new profile icon.
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I’ve had a lot more energy today, and got a drawing done! So I’m really happy about that. It can be quite difficult to have the right amount of time/energy/lack of pain line up to do so. I also compiled a little collage since I like to do one of those at the end of each calendar year, so it’s a bit of an art versus artist thing, I suppose- this isn’t everything I drew this year, but it’s most of it, and what would crop easiest into the squares/I was particularly happy with.
And a larger sizing on the icon I did (I put it up on my itch . io profile mostly for now, since I am rather fond of the little bunny on the forums:)
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Messed up my sleep schedule a little but we’re gonna fix that no problem within the next few days. Got another idea for an IF game, still need to sit down and start planning my main project actually, aha. Either way, we are trucking on folks! Also just happy in general cause of some chats i’ve been having with someone! Uuhh, so far today I haven’t done much as per usual.
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Whatever floats your boat. 
I’m more of a leaving pro-union flyers laying around various retailers just to keep the managers on their toes kind of guy myself.
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(Kitten pics spread) OMG. Cuteness overflow! Must… resist… 
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I saw 
& Juliet which turned out to be delightful experience!
Nerdy theater review, including spoilers
On the tin, it’s a feminist and inclusive musical “sequel” to Romeo and Juliet that proposes “what if Juliet didn’t kill herself over Romeo and moved on with her life?” This revision becomes a jukebox musical that uses pre-existing songs by Max Martin - who has written a shocking number of hit songs by huge artists that you definitely know - and slyly reworks them musically to sort of fit the (stylistically anachronistic) time period. So Juliet discovering Romeo is dead gets “Baby One More Time” that works in a dramatic re-orchestration; these ostensibly bubblegum Top 40 songs you’ve written off have never sounded so good.
The show sounds like it shouldn’t work based on its source - Juliet going on a farcical romantic comedy of errors road trip that plays the music surprisingly straight for its dramatic purposes. While a Celine Dion song might inspire an initial chuckle once the audience recognizes it, the juxtapositions are not just for laughs and the songs are well-mined for their actual narrative worth while still banging in performance.
I also thought this was a clever parable about rewrites, updates, literary criticism, and fan fiction. The conceit is Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway (“There will only ever be one Anne Hathaway!”) comes to see the rehearsal of a just-completed new play by her husband (she manages the household while Will works out of town) on her one day off. Anne gives her honest feedback, justifiably complaining that the ending “is shit,” and proposes to help extend the story with Juliet (age appropriately upgraded) as less of a prop and having more actual agency. Juliet doesn’t stab herself with the happy dagger and flees her parents and Verona to party in Paris with her Nurse and two characters Anne creates: a gender fluid BFF, and another gleefully self-insert best friend role for Anne to play (“We’re all in our twenties!”) who goes along to actually relish the type of story she wishes her husband would write for her. The acting troupe are on board because they’re up for fun and they get to sing songs by Katy Perry and The Backstreet Boys.
Shakespeare is expectedly resistant to the extent of changes and for a bit he and Anne fight over the quill with dueling plot lines: Will instinctively begins throwing in narrative obstructions - partly out of spite, and also because Anne’s wild fanfic romp doesn’t include necessary dramatic complications to sustain a story - Juliet quickly falls right into another relationship with a young man being forced to marry to help him avoid being sent into the army. Shakespeare twists his affections and triumphantly ret-cons that Romeo also didn’t perish to throw things awry - apparently Romeo’s purple balcony-woo’ing soliloquies are a game he’s pulled all over Verona and Paris! This miraculously sets up Romeo’s oft-used “Love Me Like You Do” and Juliet’s “Since U Been Gone.”
Best line: “WE’RE NOT DOING ACCENTS?”
One of the themes I really liked speaks to the resistance to updating and smoothing over objectionable parts of classic works that many might argue are just fine the way they are - being products of their time that may not apply to contemporary audiences. Shakespeare meant what he wrote at the moment and is reluctant to rip it apart and revise it. Anne as critic asks “Tell me why?” and he responds “Because I want it that way.” This gets turned on its head when Juliet refers to the pair as “Juliet and Romeo” and is asked “Why would you say it like that?” and with everything she (and contemporary audiences) have learned, responds “Because I want it that way.”
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The Goncharov TTRPG pals got together again today, and we played for a handful of hours. I listened to plenty of Chromeo to set the mood. Super fun. Some really beautiful prose from the meowmeows today, and some goofy liners like ‘Goncharov off… gonching,’ him whinging like a toddler about his suit to his poor dear sweet wife, and ‘Gonchie’ as a nickname.
No added visuals since I’m quite sleepy today, but here’s some of my favourite bits of prose from writing Andrey in today’s session.
Andrey stumbling across Sofia and Katya kissing on the street corner.
The dark is near absolute, punctuated only by streetlights and a haze of stars glimmering high above the city of Naples. The streets are emptied out, windows shuttered: and one man is making his way down the sidewalk, a cup of coffee in hand- a curl of steam temporarily obscuring his face.
Andrey seems to step out of the night, the definitive edges of his black overcoat fuzzy against the shadows: inquisitive eyes pale and grey as they settle on the women in front of him. He pauses- before he clears his throat, coughing: announcing his presence as his eyes flicker over their faces. “Ekaterina?” he asks.
Andrey lending Katya his coat because she was out in her nightgown.
Andrey pauses, the cup of coffee having been en route to his mouth for a sip- before he nods. “Alright,” he says, hand rummaging around in his coat for a lighter- flicked to life with a delicacy borne out of countless hours of practice, bringing the flame gently to the end of her cigarette. He repockets it afterwards, frowning as he takes in Katya’s current state of dress.
“Is everything alright at home?” he asks, voice gentle, concerned- eyes still looking her up and down, as if trying to make sense of the oddity of her attire with the context of the street. “Are you cold? You can borrow my coat, you shouldn’t be out like this- you’ll catch the death of you from the chill,” he murmurs, already going to take his jacket off without waiting for a response.
The wool is felted, dark as midnight: and sharply cut. He helps her put it on- like dressing a doll, smoothing down the lapel after freeing her hair from the collar. It smells faintly of clementine oranges. “Just get Goncharov to return it to my office in the morning,” he yawns, covering his mouth, taking a step back to put some distance between the two of them.
It was my first time playing DIRECTOR and setting a scene up for the group.
An assortment of Naples’ most notorious faces are in attendance of tonight’s performance- a ballet, including ANDREY, KATYA, GONCHAROV, and SOFIA. Somewhere in the background are a handful of Canadians (JOEL and ANTHONY), though they seem to be keeping their own company for the most part.
The ballet is a new piece- sentimental, sweet, full of technical finesse: assembled together by a spritely musical prodigy that will be found dead before the night is finished. The body will be later discovered in a pool of his own blood, stabbed through the heart with what appears to be the hour and minute hands of a grandfather clock in the foyer. A message? A show of power? A warning shot in the dark? A senseless tragedy? It’s unclear.
For now, Andrey has arrived in a black suit, rather than his usual deep blue jacket- usually slung over the back of his chair in the accountant’s cramped office when his shirtsleeves are rolled up and cuffed to squint at the financial quandaries working for the mob brings your way. He has pearl cufflinks, and a new silver ring. It gleams on his right ring finger, a tastefully sized marquis cut diamond nestled into place. His expression is sentimental, as he watches the performance on stage. Seems like someone misses his days in ballet.
ETA: I lied, here’s a silly doodle of our table and my interpretation of some people’s icons, hahah.
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Got up to a 90 day refill on two of my meds! Which means I won’t suffer from withdrawal from one of them and Ill be guaranteed perfect sleeps every night! Shame I can’t do it with my adhd meds but it is what it is! Not to mention, I’ve just felt amazing lately! Sophia is a huge contribution to that lately, love that kitty cat!
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Today I’ve drunk a coffee - positive, worked - neutral
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Been taking it easy, the polypharmacy brewing away in my tummy right now could probably tranquilize a small horse, or else gently ease a fussy Victorian child to pleasant sleep. I’ve been able to fairly consistently be able to sit up right and relax by the computer- (the first two days I couldn’t even sit up right, let alone really get out of bed) I was nervous I might have overdone it in terms of mental focus/exertion with our TTRPG session, so I’m happy to report I wasn’t super fatigued after it or anything. Might be feeling well enough to finally start working on my SeedComp project- I’ve been dodging it because I’ve been sticking to low stress/easy going activities like drawing lately, as I’ve been quite sick. I’m very full of soup and medications.
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The Danish National Symphony Orchestra just added a video of Home Alone on Youtube. They are one the greatest orchestra’s I have ever listened to.
Maybe someday I can see them in person?
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Really excited I might finally be on the upswing of the mend!! I woke up and didn’t immediately start coughing. My breathing still hitches a little sometimes, and my chest still feels a little heavy when I take a breath, but it’s not like crushed flat or crackling like pine cones or doggy barking coughs where the contractions are so violent sometimes it’d make me projectile puke on top of hacking up a lung, gross. Still a very sleepy little guy, but fingers crossed this holds up. I love you antibiotics.
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Finally fixed my sleep schedule! I took my meds to sleep around 9 last night and slept til 2 which…is a lot longer than I usually do but I slept! Also, someone randomly gifted me the newest pokemon game! So i’m excited to play that sometime today 
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It’s the first day in about a weekish or so since I’d fallen ill that I feel well enough to risk a cup of coffee. Hopefully this doesn’t wreck havoc on my throat. Really quite pleased with being able to enjoy a taste of it again- even with the unfortunately early start to my day. Hey, on the bright side, maybe it’ll fix my sleep schedule.
Also trying out a new forum theme- Dracula looks pretty spiffy.
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The fiber-internet install I hadn’t gotten a date for and that, by today, I certainly didn’t expect before the new year is happening right now!
zomg, and the new laptop with the OLED display to replace the one that’s been flaking badly for a year, for which I’d originally been given an ETA of the 28th, is on the truck.
Merry Geekmas to me.
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