I think Anna? posted about Natalia Tsarikova upthread a while ago. She's a Russian soprano who trained in Italy and now resides in Finland. Excellent voice. She is probably best known for covers of bands like Nightwish but this is an original song by Finnish songwriter Juha Alanampa who also produced.

Depends on the cake. For what we usually call "cake" here, fork. Too soft and loose for fingers. But for something like a fruitcake that's more dense and bread-like, fingers are preferred.

Walk or bike for exercise?

Oddly, for one not really actively Christian, The Gospels. I am a leader on a discussion forum called Bible Passage of the Week on another site and we've been doing stories related to Easter and Holy Week recently.

Ape wanders in. Ape sees brownies. Ape starts swiping.😊

Good morning, all. Here's some nice hot java to go with those brownies. Tea, too, Assam and English Breakfast.

I've put both lemonade and iced tea in the fridge. Help yourselves.

Bright and sunny here and looking good for the whole weekend.

Good morning! Ape here. Worked until 10pm last night (grumble). Oh well, last day of work before a long weekend.

Coffee is a Blue Mountain from Jamaica. For teas we have English Breakfast and Wakoucha (Japanese red/black). Hot water is one for other hot bevvies. Iced tea is in the fridge for those in need of something cool. Restocked the sodas, too.

Shun

It's morning! Good morning!

Wet here. Rain, chance of thunderstorms.

Coffee is ready, as are pots of Earl Grey and Red Rose tea. Hot water is ready. There's fresh lemonade in the fridge.

Later, alligators.

Even as I work on my fantasy tales, I am meditating on doing some space s-f. There's a whole bunch of different world-building questions with that genre. Like,

Is there faster-than-light travel? (the answer to this one affects the answer to the rest, since if there is no FTL, travel is confined to one system unless another system is quite close by)

Are civilizations common or rare?

Are there multiple civilizations, an overarching galactic "Federation" or "Empire", individual systems?

Are the aliens "alien" or just humans with pointy ears and extra bumps on their heads?

Is there lots of unknown space so that exploring that space is important (Star Trek) or is it a well-settled, well-traveled galaxy where conflicts, politics, etc. are more important (Star Wars)?

Probably more, but that's a start.

Quote by verbal
saying goodbye to Talia, who will be leaving tomorrow for a little while.

Been there, done that. But I had a kid to look after, too, when she was travelling for her academic conferences and such.

Quote by verbal
Mets lost last night, and lost first place to the Braves.

Oh well, Sara will be happy, at least.

Quote by JamesPBear
It's not your deodorant

You're assuming gorillas use deodorant. 😲😉

It's the usual mixed bag. Seaside gothic, women and werewolves (open only to women), mysteries with a twist, superheroes saving the planet, and so much more. Got a story idea? Have a look and see if it fits any of them.

» 35 Themed Submission Calls and Contests for April 2023 (authorspublish.com)

And lest you think I have gone soft, here's German rockers Feuerschwanz with some help from Swiss singer Fabienne Erni of the band Eluveite.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

I just listened to the whole album. I have a feeling it may just be getting ordered! 👌

Visions are amazing. They do have a bit of a revolving door lineup, unfortunately. Clementine (female singer) has been around a while now but I think Pirates last year was Michele's (male singer) first studio album with them. I am hoping he sticks around a while. I like how his voice works with Clementine's. Rather like Marko Hietala's work with the female leads in Nightwish.

In much different vein, English choral group Voces8 do a range of music from Renaissance through to modern. Here they team up with American composer Eric Whitacre for one of his works with Whitacre himself conducting.

Quote by elizabethblack

A day in the life...

LOL. Maybe it's not his cat. Maybe it's the cop's cat. 🤣

Good morning, fellow writers, readers, and literati. The coffee is hot and ready. There's a couple pots of tea, Russian Caravan and English Breakfast. Hot water is on for other teas and hot beverages. And there's a pitcher of iced tea chilling in the fridge.

Had a hellish day at work yesterday and other things are bothering me, too. Events at another site I am on are making me rather glad this place is quiet. Still, we need some more life and oomph around here, I think. Maybe I'll try posting here more to see if I can draw some folks out of the woodwork.

New live album from Austrian-based band Visions of Atlantis and it is a beauty. I got into this band last year when their album Pirates came out. This is a live version of my favorite song off the album and one of my faves of 2022 period.

That sounds like fun, I think. Maybe we should have another wedding someday (30 years now).

Gak. I hate blood. Take care, Jim, and hope they can find a med that works without these issues.

Good morning, Putting on a pot of coffee from the Jamaican Blue Mountains. Teas are Assam Bukhiel and Red Rose. Hot water is ready for other hot drinks. There's a pitcher of lemonade in the fridge, too. Bit chilly to need it here, but I imagine it is warming up in other parts.

Oh, and here's a little something for breakfast. Hot off the ape's stove. Help yerself.

Quote by gillianleeza
it felt at times they were trying to cram in all the tropes that would appeal to the Oscar voters.

God, I hate movies that are blatant Oscar bait. Make a movie based on the story and characters and let the awards come if they come. Some of my favorite movies would never get within a mile of an Oscar but are much better movies, IMHO, than some of the movies made with award potential in mind.

Look up the s-f movie The Quiet Earth. Marvelous, moody, character-driven post-apoc story with only a few, very pointed and relevant sfx.

/End Rant

Want - wand

So I am trying to flesh out my world's religion now that I have a priestess (a "Lorn" in the parlance of this society) and her apprentice as characters. I have settled on making it monothestic, but also working to make it somewhat different from Western monotheism in our world. There are some elements clearly with Jewish or Christian roots, but there is no "Bible" or salvation in their beliefs (maybe there will be a sect like that later, but so far not). Really, it is more like a pagan tradition that has evolved into a kind of monotheism or henotheism (multiple deities but one is supreme above the others). So far I have:

Denith - "God"

Denith An - "Angels" or maybe lesser deities, basically spirit priest(esse)s

Denith Lorn - the human priesthood

Denith Sha - lay order who provide protection and other aid to the Denith Lorn

Tan Denatha - the Denith Lorn "Vatican", basically a huge palace complex where the leaders of the religion live and work

Colleges - sects within the Denith Lorn focused on particular things (e.g. Elera in my latest story is from the College of Spirits, which studies spirits, sorcery, etc.)

Good morning, Stories Space. Sunny here for now, but the weather is supposed to turn crappy (rain with possible thunderstorms) later in the day.

I've put on a pot of Ethiopian Yirgcheffe for the coffee set. Teas are Scottish Breakfast and Wakucha (Japanese black tea). Hot water is ready for other teas or hot chocolate. Since I've been a bit scarce, I have checked and restocked sodas, marshmallows, and other such goodies. Bit early to start making lemonade and iced tea but since it really is Spring, I'll make a pitcher of the latter and put it in the fridge.

Trying to write but my mood has seriously sucked of late so it is hard to focus on a story.

It is Friday which means new albums. Ad Infinitum started life as a crowdfunded solo project of Swiss singer Melissa Bonny and is now on their third album called, aptly, Chapter III. This new video is for the opening track.

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
Taking my brother to see Dungeons and Dragons tonight

I am a bit tempted. The reviews are much better than for any previous attempt at a D&D oor RPG-based movie and from the trailer, it looks like they nailed some of the monsters from my D&D days.

Greatest home run evar!!

Good morning! I have put on a pot of Nicaraguan for the coffee crowd. Teas are Red Rose and Assam Bukhiel. Hot water is ready for other hot beverages.

We had a bit of snow yesterday afternoon but it appear it will be short-lived.

Ape is back from the wilds of Central Ontario where the lakes are still frozen (really) and there's still substantial amounts of the white stuff in places. (For James: Orillia)

Good afternoon. I shall endeavour to resume regular coffee setups now, but I put on a pot of coffee and a pot of green tea for the afternoon crowd.

Quote by KatarinaTechgoddess
Sometimes when I feel like my story is dumb or I can’t see it going any further, I just let it sit. I move onto something else and then come back several months (or even years) and see if I can revive it with fresh eyes.

This is where I am trying to live. I now have an "Under Review" folder in my Google Drive writing folder for stuff that I am unhappy with but might want to come back to. I have been terrible for going "eff it" and deleting stuff over the years.

Later, alligators.

Adam is no Freddy but he has nonetheless pulled off some pretty incredible performances with Queen, not to mention his own career.

My big musical event of the past week was the release of Floor Jansen's solo album Paragon. The final single was the opening track, "My Paragon."

And, amazingly, Floor actually managed to one-up herself by announcing that she is pregnant with her second child a few days before the album dropped. She is now on the Asian leg of Nightwish's Human : || : Nature tour and, yeah, after watching some fan vids from the tour I see why she announced when she did. There's no hiding it anymore. She's even referenced it a few times in her banter it seems.

Quote by JamesPBear

This is almost the definition of nasty weather! It's grey and threatening, with cold rain, just above freezing, and a piercing wind.

Yeah, nasty down here, too. Started after lunch. Now we are under a wind warning here.

Bit soggy here today but, hey, that's the story of spring in Southwestern Ontario. Helps get rid of the snow, I guess.

Coffee is on with some Ethiopian Yirgacheffe in the pot. Teas are Assam and Scottish Breakfast. Hot water is ready for other beverages.

I do have a start on the next part of the story I began in the The Spirits of Tan Maldrin but I am already rethinking it so not sure where it will go now.

Nice that they not only mentioned his writing, but linked to it. Lovely touch.