Snowflake Challenge 9: Tropes

Jan. 17th, 2026 10:49 am
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Snowflake Challenge 9: Tropes

Let's talk TROPES! Our ninth challenge is about discussing your favorite tropes, which can include requesting recommendations or making recommendations for a particular trope. Follow your heart! (Also a trope.)

Talk about your favorite tropes in media or transformative works. (Feel free to substitute in theme/motif/cliche if "trope" doesn't resonate with you.)



An old-fashioned ornament of two young girls bundled up in coats and walking side by side is nestled amidst pine boughs.

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Philosophical Questions: Democracy

Jan. 17th, 2026 01:00 am
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People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

Considering that the technology exists to enable a real democracy, would a true democracy (every single person can vote on every single legislation) be advantageous or detrimental?

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Greenland Defense Front

Jan. 17th, 2026 12:42 am
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I found these videos today. Do not watch with mouth full.


Greenland Defense Front - The Hungry Giant (Official Music Video)

I love the hell out of this and wish any of that imagery would appear on a T-shirt. It is right up there with Der Fuhrer's Face.



Democratic Penguins Republic - Space Program (Official Music Video)

Here's a fantastic filk song.


Democratic Penguins Republic - Greenland (Official Music Video)

This one is also pretty good.

2025 Photos

Jan. 16th, 2026 10:04 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
These are the photos that I uploaded in 2025, mostly pictures from my yard or local nature sites.  See my Photo tag on Dreamwidth.

• 1401 photos
• Created 03.01.2025
• Updated 26.12.2025

Wow, that's a lot. :D It's nowhere near all of them, even all of the ones good enough to share.

These are the ones I selected to share in Three for the Memories as my most memorable (not most aesthetic or most technically ept) from 2025.
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
These are the three pictures I selected as most memorable (not the most aesthetically beautiful or technically ept) from 2025 for [community profile] threeforthememories.

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New Year's Resolutions Check In

Jan. 16th, 2026 07:46 pm
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We made it through the second week of January. This is enough to get a better grasp of progress with New Year's resolutions. It's also into the period of rapid die-off. We have reached the second Friday in January, also known as Quitter's Day because so many people give up their New Year's resolutions then. See also the parallel check in post over on [community profile] goals_on_dw.

Feel free to copy the idea of a New Year's resolution check-in to your blog or other venue, to encourage yourself and your friends. Many people find that social support helps maintain resolutions. This is one area where online activity works as well as or better than facetime activity. Apps work too, with trackers for most popular goal categories. Consider the pros and cons of getting your friends to help. Here on Dreamwidth we have [community profile] awesomeers and [community profile] do_it that may prove helpful for social support of goals. Some craft communities like [community profile] get_knitted and [community profile] justcreate also have check-in posts.

According to an email from Facebook, the survey found that those who shared their New Year's resolution on Facebook were 36 percent more likely to stick to it. Additionally, 52 percent of those surveyed agreed that sharing their resolutions with others is helpful when it comes to accomplishing them. In my experience, saying (or posting) things out loud definitely makes them feel more real. Plus, if other people know about a goal you're trying to achieve, it may motivate you to keep working at it so you can provide future updates on your progress.

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Birdfeeding

Jan. 16th, 2026 01:04 pm
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Today is cloudy and chilly.  It snowed last night, just enough to leave a blanket of white over everything.  Most of it has already melted away.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/16/26 -- I saw a mourning dove.

EDIT 1/16/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.
 

War Stories

Jan. 16th, 2026 12:28 pm
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This post has war pictures from Ukraine focused on anti-drone netting.  Back when people first started talking about building drones and how cool they would be, I pointed out how much it would suck because they would very quickly wind up spying on and shooting at people.  Nobody believed me.  And here we are. >_<
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem is spillover from the June 4, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from [personal profile] see_also_friend, [personal profile] rix_scaedu, and [personal profile] wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "Activism" square in my 6-1-24 card for the Pride Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by [personal profile] fuzzyred. It belongs to the Rutledge thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

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Follow Friday 1-16-26: Leverage

Jan. 16th, 2026 12:09 am
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Today's theme is Leverage.

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Poem: "There's an Art to It"

Jan. 15th, 2026 09:13 pm
ysabetwordsmith: A paint roller creates an American flag, with the text Arts and Crafts America. (Arts and Crafts America)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem is the linkback perk for the July 5, 2022 Poetry Fishbowl, originally hosted by Dreamwidth user Dialecticdreamer. It is spillover from the March 1, 2022 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from Dreamwidth users Heartsinger and Zeeth_kyrah. It also fills the "Colored Pencils" square in my 3-1-22 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the series Arts and Crafts America.

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Read "Hordes of the Khan"

Jan. 15th, 2026 08:19 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
My partner Doug tipped me to "Hordes of the Khan" by Scott R. Brooks, a Johnny Quest fancomic.

Check out the "Quest for Knowledge" page. That is very typical of comics in Terramagne, which often throw in some fun facts about the setting, history, flora and fauna, etc. even if the story is wholly fictional.

dead bodies

Jan. 15th, 2026 06:00 pm
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[personal profile] kengr
Anyone have any idea how long it'd take dead body to skeltonize in temperate forest/brush? Assume some place like Spokane, or between Portland and Mt Hood.

Clothing something like military BDUs (except tougher) and in thick brush so nothing larger than a fox can get at it.

I'm looking for something like a year, several years, longer.


A semi related thought has to do with someone in Full MOPP gear. Died from some internal cause (say heatstroke) so the gear is intact. I'm pretty sure the result eventually be human soup with bones. Not something *I* would want to have to deal with... ewww.

Poetry Fishbowl Themes for Early 2026

Jan. 15th, 2026 02:42 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poll covers the ideas proposed in the recent call for themes. Everyone is eligible to vote in this poll. I will keep it open until at least Friday night. If there are clear answers then, I'll close it. Otherwise I may leave it open a little longer. If you don't have a Dreamwidth account, you can vote in an anonymous comment or email to me, but include some kind of handle to distinguish yourself.

For this poll, you can vote for as many themes as you find appealing. I recommend that you don't vote for all of them, since that makes it harder to whittle down the list. The themes are arranged in alphabetical order.

Here are your options ...

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Wildlife

Jan. 15th, 2026 02:21 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Monkeys With Smaller Testicles Scream Louder to Compensate

It's a "calls vs balls" tradeoff.

It’s a long-held belief that loudmouths overcompensate for something, but in the case of howler monkeys, science has confirmed it’s a biological fact. A landmark study by Dr. Jacob Dunn at Cambridge University, along with 2026 follow-up research, has established that monkeys who scream the loudest effectively “pay” for that volume with significantly smaller testes and lower sperm counts
.


You gotta wonder if this applies to humans and some of their absurd behavior.

Neighborhood Poetry

Jan. 15th, 2026 02:06 pm
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[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
[personal profile] sef1029 shared a picture of a tiny bulletin board for neighborhood poetry.  This is the kind of thing that anyone could put up, a riff on the Little Free (whatever) concept.  It would work just as well for any kind of creative writing that fits on one page, like nature writing or drabbles, as well as things like copies of a journal page with a sketch and description of local flora or fauna. 

No poem?  No problem!  Sponsors of my work get nonexclusive reprint rights.  I'd be happy to write one-page poems for neighborhood use.  See something of mine that you already like?  Chip in, you're a cosponsor, you can pass around free copies. 

Also keep an eye out for local poets in your area who might like to participate.  Watch for bookstores, libraries, coffeehouses, etc. to host an open mike night, poetry reading, author signing, etc. where you can meet poets from your area.  These also make good places to put up a poetry post, indoors or outdoors.

Of course, you could also look up classic poems in the public domain and use those.

Birdfeeding

Jan. 15th, 2026 01:38 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is mostly sunny and cold.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a flock of sparrows and a starling.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/15/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/15/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/15/26 -- I did some work around the yard.

I've seen a downy woodpecker drumming on a branch, and a pair of cardinals flying away.

EDIT 1/15/26 -- I dumped out the cloverleaf pots and stacked them upside-down on the patio.  Last year I tried growing wild strawberries in towers.  This didn't work great because 1) the berries weren't very good, 2) the towers were difficult to water, and 3) they were prone to falling over.  However, I learned some things so it wasn't a wasted effort.  I'm not sure what I'll try next.  Certainly I could plant better strawberries, either my wild ones or the pink-flowered Toscano that produced excellent berries last summer.  Watering should be easier with a hose.  Stability, hmm, I might try stakes or just spread them out.



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