Orange Pekoe with a squirt of fresh lime juice.

Congrats, Red! Being married that long is quite a milestone. Means you've both got the longevity thing going and you clearly have found the right person.

Sorry for being scarce. Had a writing project going for another site.

Quote by verbal
I think of this part as sanding a piece of wood, trying to find the shape.

Oo, I like that metaphor. I'll have to use it myself when I am trying to justify my sometimes rather anal editing.

Nice day here. Temp is starting to creep out of my comfort zone again, though.

Come August, this:

Buddha's Blend (White tea, Jasmine green tea, hibiscus) from David's Tea.

Quote by etairay

Hey hey everybody

Kettle is on for a pot of tea🍵

Haha did you really think you got rid of me ..haters are gonna hate

Take care. Stay safe. Be happy.

Positive thoughts and vibes coming your way with loads of love love

Bfn

Hey, I saw you around elsewhere and wondered when you'd pay us a visit. Nice to see you again, eh. How's life on the wrong side of the planet? 😜

Hey, folks. It's the weekend! And the ape is officially on vacation (vs. being on sick leave for the past 3 days, which is similar but less fun). COVID is still kicking my butt but I am starting to come out on top, I think.

Coffee is a fine Jamaican Blue Mountain. Teas are David's Breakfast (special blend of a Canadian chain) and Cream of Earl Grey. Iced is in the fridge as steamy weather continues both here and elsewhere.

S-F worldbuilding is rather different from fantasy worldbuilding. Plausibility becomes a big factor. It has to sound like something that might work even if a close analysis can poke holes in it. If you can explain it in a way that sounds like science, it should fly. And it needs to fairly rigorous and consistent. If you establish that FTL is only possible using "wormholes" then don't suddenly drop in a warp drive unless there is something you are doing with it in the story (all these years, they were wrong...). For instance, Asimov's robot stories are often about robots breaking those three rules but the meat of the plot is often the protagonist figuring out why it happened so the discrepancy is part of the story, not something he just plopped in for convenience.

Fantasy, by contrast, kind of depends on subgenre. Some fantasy has very "scientific" magic that is rather like a supernatural substitute for technology. So some of what I said about s-f would apply (the rigorous and consistent part, for instance). Others have it very loose, mostly whatever the plot need it to do. In Tana's stories I ended developing a loose concept of magic based on pacts that bind spirits or spiritual energy but what you can do with it is largely a function of the story, not any kind of system. It's another piece of the world I'll have to develop more if I take this beyond the current stories. And if you're doing mythological fantasy (gods, goddesses, related beings) then pretty much anything goes, even if you might want to put some loose rules around it (e.g. the god of water can only affect water type of thing).

History, actually. I am reading The Perdiccas Years by Tristan Hughes, which deals with the aftermath of the death of Alexander the Great. It's a period that even my classics degree kind of glossed over. Alexander dies (mumble mumble) presto, Hellenistic kingdoms! But there's actually tons of great stories in the period from 323BCE (his death) and 275BCE when the familiar Hellenistic kingdoms were finally established. This only deals with first 3 years post-Alexander, when the focus was his general Perdiccas trying to hold the empire together. I hope he plans to do this as a series eventually.

And how did I find it? Hughes hosts the History Hit podcast The Ancients and he, not surprisingly, did an episode on the last days of Alexander and the first days after his death in conjunction with the book's launch.

5571 (time to go and have some fun)

Quote by verbal
Sorry too, Scott, that you have Covid. Hopefully it won't be a severe case.

It's flu league for me. Fever in the 38 range, aches, cough, sinuses eff-ed up (though with my sinuses, even a mild cold can put me in agony for weeks after). If it stays at that level I can manage. After all, I went through it for a week every year before the miracle of the flu vaccine came along.

In the current issue of Authors Publish newsletter, they spotlight Wizards in Space. In spite of the name, it is not s-f/f, but a general purpose literary journal that takes poems, short fiction, and creative non-fiction. And their latest reading deadline looms on August 1 (Authors Publish is often irritatingly late with some of these announcements). Have a boo. There's still ten days to go.

Oh, and they publish real books, too, not just e-books (though they have those, too, it says).

https://authorspublish.com/wizards-in-space-now-seeking-submissions/

Quote by redwriter
Jeff, I reckoned we should send out a search party to find Scott.

Just tell them to have their shots up to date and masks on.🙄 Yep, I got the bug. That's not the only reason I have been scarce, but it's a big one. It's also been a bit crazy at work. One guy on vac so my new grad (hired right out of his diploma program 7 months ago) is running the shop now that I'm laid up.

Coffee is brewed and there's Red Rose and Earl Grey in the teapots. Iced tea is topped up since I hear I'm not the only one who might need something cold.

We have not been as bad as Europe (not even close) but definitely getting a run of Southern Ontario summer. 30+ and humid each day. It's a bit weird and comforting to see that the "real" London is actually hotter than us for once. We are actually one of the hotter parts of Canada so the UK in general is normally cooler than here this time of year.

And a recent collaboration with Israeli symphonic metal band Scardust (she's friends with the lead singer).

Quote by AnnaMayZing

This is a new release, today, from that great singer/songwriter, Lissie.

Her latest album, Carving Canyons is due out on September 16th.

Beat me to it. Great song and I love her voice.

Hurdy gurdy in the 21st century sounds like something you'd find in bardcore or other medieval-based or inspired music. And Patty Gurdy does some of that. But she is also using it in some very good, interesting pop and rock music. Here she is live with her touring band doing one of her original songs.

Special effects liven up movies.

Quiet in here. I'll put on a couple late day teas, a Sencha (Japanese green) and a lemon-ginger herbal. Put some lemonade in the fridge for those in warmer parts, too. It's a bit steamy here but not terrible. Got in a bike ride this morning for exercise. One more week until vacation (yay).

Orchestra? Check

Choir? Check

Two powerful classically-trained voices? Check

Heavy metal band? Check

Yep, must be symphonic metal. The band is Epica and their lead singer Simone Simons is joined by her friend Floor Jansen for this performance of one of my favorite of their songs. The occasion was the band's 10th anniversary. They are still going strong and I watched a livestream of them performing at Hellfest earlier this summer.

Company can have many employees.

5544 (now go, cat go)

Discovered that The Nature of Things, a popular Canadian science/nature series (now 60 years old), had a nice four-parter a few seasons back where they did an episode themed around each season. Watched Summer last night and it kind of skipped around the country, showing how the summer season affects various ecosystems and animals. Will probably watch the rest. In Canada it's available via the CBC's Gem streaming service (it's the first four episodes of season 57). Not sure about elsewhere. There are some Nature of Things episodes on the CBC Docs Youtube channel but haven't checked to see if these ones are included.

And if James is watching, the summer episode has a great piece on polar bears. 😋

An ape walks into a cafe singing in a strange language. Everyone stares as the ape makes a pot of coffee, fills two teapots with looseleaf tea and hot water, makes iced tea, and scarfs a handful of cookies. He gives the room a big thumbs-up, then wanders out whistling an alien tune that makes the listeners shudder.

The End?

Most people like to eat.

icicle - apple

Hi Sara!

Mmmm. Animal cookies. takes a deer and a bunny

Nah, you'd probably have to say "Low to mid 80s" given that she's in the US where they still have Fahrenheit. 😊

Just popping by to put some coffee on. Tea is steeping, too. English Breakfast and Duke of Earl are the teas du jour. Fresh iced tea is in the fridge.

5538 (come on in, it's getting late)

Quote by elizabethblack
Is married. Happily. Very happily.

Never stopped celebrity crushes before. 😉

Who is playing Marple nowadays. I still remember the Joan Hickson ones but I assume these is a new series.

Guess what? The mower I had serviced a month and a bit ago is busted. Good job, buddy. Can't reach them by phone, either, so have to use email. At least we are into a dry summer so grass only needs doing every 2-3 weeks so I have some time. Got it done yesterday and it barfed at the end.

Coffee is brewed dark and strong. Teas are Earl Grey and Red Rose. Iced tea is in the fridge, ready for those needing a cold one.

Later alligators.

Quote by Molly

At the very least, the first Dr. Strange and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Watching Wandavision would be great too but then you get into the, why is this happening in Wandavision so you'd have to watch Infinity War and End Game. Yeah, it's a lot.

All that being said, Sam Raimi is great.

Which is why I have kind of opted out on the MCU after watching (and generally enjoying) some of the early ones. Last one I saw was Captain Marvel but due to the setting being pre-Iron Man et al., it actually held up well on its own.

I did enjoy Raimi's Spiderman but my favorite Raimi superhero movie is still Darkman. Admittedly, it's "street level" vigilante superhero rather than Avengers-level but I kind of prefer those anyhow. Some of the more grounded Batman stories like Year One are faves, too.

No network issues today, just busy. Coffee is belatedly made and there is some nice David's Breakfast (house brand of a Canadian loose leaf tea chain) in the teapot. Iced tea is made for those like me who are facing a steamy day (31C forecast high here, but there is a breeze).