yamamanama | Reading

Snowflake Challenge: A warmly light quaint street of shops at night with heavy snow falling.

Challenge #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page

Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!

I don't like AI but I do like cats. I visit Youtube a lot, and I've run across some animated cat stories. Japanese cats who dress in human clothes and do human activities, sometimes share the world with big humans and nobody turns a hair at a cat family shopping next to them. The cats are always helping lonely/hungry/hurt/raggedy other cats and animals. Altruistic, the cats are. I just love the drawings.
Here's a sample.

Watch on YouTube

jazzy_dave

As we get older do you think we get weirder or at least more unconventional?

Is it in our DNA?

Or is it that uncertainty about the future and the undiscovered country that informs our conclusion that we don't give an eff anymore?

lycomingst

Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.

I owe fandom for my creativity, such as it is. I wouldn't have written the stories I have without the inspiration of the characters on the screen. Most of my stuff are moments that could have happened offscreen when characters interacted.

And icons! I have absolutely no artistic ability so making icons was a joy to me. I made art, not just had appreciation of talent.

tommx posting in

addme

Name: Tom

Age: 58

I mostly post about: Day to day life, random thoughts, whatever I'm watching/reading, etc. It's more or less stream of consciousness, though I try to link certain items that I consider relevant; books, restaurants, significant locations, etc. In the past, I've used Amazon to link them, but as I have grown to really hate Jeff Bezos for what he's done to the Washington Post, I now use Barnes and Noble for book links.

My hobbies are: TTRPs (primarily Dungeons and Dragons), community theater, cooking, hiking, camping, wine collecting, computer programming (also my profession but I like to code for fun as well), writing, reading, building things, tinkering, drawing, and more things I generally have no actual time for.

My fandoms are: Star Trek, Doctor Who, Marvel (Silver Age), A Song of Ice and Fire, Remembrance of Earth's Past aka The Three Body Problem, et al. Some of my favorite authors include Douglas Adams, George R.R. Martin, James S. A. Corey, Tanith Lee, Michael Moorock, Brad Meltzer, John Steinbeck, and William Gibson. There are more, but that's who comes to mind.

I'm looking to meet people who: are basically cool and like to interact. I have a presence on other socials but I don't like using them because they either have become echo chambers, or are trying to push things on me in which I have no interest. I'm not looking to share memes and I have no interest in someone's OnlyFans page. I have nothing against people who have that sort of thing, but it doesn't interest me. I'd rather interact with someone who might want to discuss the Medici family of Renaissance Florence, or discuss the actual mechanics of LLMs rather than rant about how AI is going to destroy the world. Want to talk meaningfully about physics, archeology, musicology, mythology, literature, or the nature of consciousness? You might be someone I'd like to know.

My posting schedule tends to be: It's been kind of sporadic over the last year, but I'm looking to make a fresh start this year. I won't post daily, probably, but weekly at least.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: If you're MAGA, move on. I probably represent everything you hate, and I don't have time to educate people in a cult. I do not tolerate hate speech, homophobia, transphobia, incels, etc.

Before adding me, you should know: I'm an atheist for starters. I don't have a problem with people of faith, provided they don't try to rub my nose in it. I don't generally countenance evangelicals or fundamentalists, or anyone who feels the need to inject some performative demonstration of their supposed piety into literally every situation. I've known many people like this, and I lose patience with them very quickly.

I'm a 2 time cancer survivor. The last bout was diagnosed 4 years ago, and nearly killed me. I've written about some of the experience here, but may expand on it more in the future, now that I feel like I'm in a reasonably good headspace to think about what I went through.

I try to be polite and respectful of everyone with whom I interact. I expect the same from others. Slurs, insults, etc., are not tolerated. The basic rule of interacting with me: Don't be a dick. It's pretty much the closest thing I have to a philosophy of life.

Most of my journal is friends locked, but I'm happy to add people if they're interested. I've met some wonderful people here, and am always happy to meet more.

zarla

Poll #34051

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 14

View Respondents

important

View Answers

Slidey block puzzle
2 (14.3%)

Sliding block puzzle
12 (85.7%)

Current Mood: curious

zarla

Gasp someone got me paid time here! :O Whoever it was thank youuuu, I added my old Girl and Triangle mood theme as a result. |D I should probably redraw parts of it or make a lady one or something but I'm fond of it! I'm so used to it now. I did add a few new little bits to it:

Though shoot I already had one for Determined and just forgot. OH WELL guess what the other ones are for, haha.

It seems like my posts on LJ aren't visible if you aren't logged-in now, which isn't great. It seems like email notifications are still working though. I mirrored some of my old comms over here the other night:

frungylovers - the old Starcon2 comm!

respectawoman - Lady comm

screencappery - The screencap adventure comm I totally forgot about. :O A lot of stuff here if you want to read through some games, haha.

I haven't really done much clean-up or maintenance on them, except turning off comments on one post in the ladycomm that was covered with spam. They're here at least for now!

Current Mood: thirsty
Now Playing: 35147. Iamamiwhoami - Idle Talk

jayregee posting in

addme

Name: Regis

Age: 46

I mostly post about: My life as a bipolar gay man, fandoms and things that pique my interest.

My hobbies are: I mainly just surf the net and collect physical media. I prefer it over streaming.

My fandoms are: Twin Peaks, Friday the 13th, SAW Monk, Sherlock, Murder She Wrote, Perry Mason... Let's just say I like a lot of mystery programs.

I'm looking to meet people who: I wouldn't mind finding other gays with my interests. I am not picky though. I will take anyone. I am trying to make new friends in 2026. Take the edge off of today's misery.

My posting schedule tends to be: daily/weekly/monthly/sporadic/etc I tend to write when the spirit in me is strong. I try to post everyday but lately I've been too weak in the mind to get any words on the screen.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Homophobic people that are MAGA like Trump. DIsgusting pictures are sometimes banned but I like horror movies. So, they tend to be few and far between.

Before adding me, you should know: I am gay and do talk about the and my depression at some length. Also, I am known to post hunky guys on holidays and special occasions/

jazzy_dave

Wonderful lie-in this morning. Too cosy to get up early. In fact, I listened to the radio and got out of bed around ten. Never feel guilty, I say.

I did pop into town this morning, as there was chores to do, and some other items I needed. It was cold, but sunny and dry, and around 2 degrees centigrade.

I posted off one item and then headed towards my local pub. I met Ewart for a few drinks and gave him his late Xmas pressie. The present was the Guardian Yearbook in hardback. It was from 2025 anyway, and I remembered buying it from the Fleurs Bookshop.

When I arrived back home, I hit the decks and spun some vinyl. An excellent LP from Rare Vinyl had arrived. It was the classic 1974 album by The Crusaders called "Southern Comfort". Just £17 for a copy in near mint condition.

Southern Comfort, Primary, 1 of 6

I just love really good jazz, jazz funk and fusion.

lycomingst

The ceiling fire alarm went off again at another inconvenient time. I got out the ladder and then got my glasses so I could read on how to shut it off. I tried and tried. I got 'flop sweat' and the thing wouldn't shut off. Finally I got a couple of screwdrivers out and just had at it. The other alarm units had batteries to replace, easily done. This one is electrically attached by wires. I even tried shutting the main off and still, horrible beeping. There was some sort of secondary battery. I ripped the plastic off with the screwdriver and got the thing loose from the ceiling.

Was the story over? Youtube said to push the button to bleed the extra battery into silence. I thought I had and put the unit in a storage box. Yet, the next day, beeping! Beeping! Like it was being held prisoner and yelling for release. Or like Frankenstein's monster suddenly come alive.

I pried the casing apart into pieces. No more button attached to push. Pieces. And put it in the trash. Where it has remained silent.

spain posting in

addme

Name: Sarah
Age: 32

I mostly post about: Day to day, real life stuff. I mostly talk about whatever's going on, which can just be about taking the kids somewhere cool, visiting family, my job, etc. I do tend to keep negative posts private just because I'm using the space to vent and don't necessarily want advice, so I'd say my posts are also typically positive. I also try to include photos in every post and love seeing photos from friends

My hobbies/interests are: Reading, traveling, video games, going to concerts, collecting vinyl, lego, dark academia, tarot, coffee, all things horror

I'm looking to meet people who: have similar interests and values, who I can get along with and become friends with outside of this site. I love being friends on other social media platforms, talking outside of just DW, meeting up with people, etc

My posting schedule tends to be: For someone who is chronically online, I tend to only post about once or twice a month. I do read everyone's posts and comment when I can, but I don't like commenting just for the sake of commenting. I enjoy comments that can start a conversation or come from a place of sincerity and don't just say something like, "looks fun!"

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: I'm not into fandom whatsoever, so if your journal is majorly or exclusively about fandom, we won't work out. Also regardless of political views, I will most likely never talk about it on my journal and don't love reading about politics, so if that's something that's important to you, we might not mesh well

jazzy_dave

It was one of those days that i ended a lie-in. I did not sleep too well in the night. Either a busy brain or some dread that gripped me. At least, after a morning cuppa, I did feel quite inequivalently myself again. I had a shower at around eleven. I was intending to do some hoovering around the flat, but I put that on the back burner.

I sat down listening to some music on CD such as the latest Ben LaMar Gay album and The Necks latest workout. Both albums are related to jazz in many respects.

For lunch, I had the same chicken dish as teh previous day,with the baby spinach and garlic, but on this occasion, with sweet potato. I had forgotten how tasty sweet potato can be. It is a wonderful veg.

I have not been watching any telly today due to the glaringly pernicious old octogenarian that refuses to give up the communal television remote control..

This is why I prefer music and books overall.

I rediscovered the joys of my old mp3 player,a Filo X1. I think my brother gave me this some years ago now. It has loads of albums on there which I randomly select.

Tomorrow, I Wil;l brave the cold weather to venture into town to post off something that was faulty and to get the refund.

jazzy_dave

Rie Qudan "Sympathy Tower Tokyo" (Penguin)

Sympathy Tower Tokyo is a thought-provoking novel that begins with the presence of generative AI, but quickly reveals it’s not really about machines. It’s about people. While it may seem at first like Qudan is simply exploring the novelty of AI-generated language, the real power of the novel lies in how that technology becomes a lens for deeper questions. When a machine offers us words, does that reduce their emotional impact, or is it just another form of collaboration?

At its core, Sympathy Tower Tokyo is a meditation on the changing nature of language. In the neon-lit glow of Tokyo, languages blend as Japanese and foreign sounding imports mix in subways, menus, ideals, and inner thoughts. Generative AI, able to mimic tone and idioms, highlights how flexible language has become. But the novel goes beyond this. Language here isn’t just a tool. It’s a living thing, shaped by context, gesture, even silence. The AI’s fluent but mechanical voice contrasts with the messiness of human expression, showing that meaning comes not just from grammar but from emotion, memory, and history.

Although the story presents itself as forward-looking with themes of AI, emotional design, and restorative justice, it’s also shot through with more conservative undercurrents that complicate its message. These aren’t overt, but they surface in character dynamics, language choices, and ideological tensions.

The architect of the tower is a particularly complex figure. She’s a woman leading a radical project meant to reimagine criminal justice. Yet her thinking is steeped in cultural nostalgia and linguistic conservatism. Her dislike for katakana, for example, goes beyond aesthetics. It reflects discomfort with Japan’s shifting cultural identity. To her, katakana signals dilution, euphemism, even avoidance. Her preference for kanji isn’t just about beauty. It’s about control and preserving meaning within a fixed cultural tradition. This linguistic purism mirrors a broader conservative instinct, a desire to maintain clarity, hierarchy, and cultural specificity in an increasingly fluid world.

The novel’s central irony is that its most innovative elements, the tower, the AI, the justice model, are all created by people who hold deeply traditional views. This tension feels deliberate. Qudan seems to suggest that real progress often stands on the shoulders of older, sometimes problematic foundations. Even the most forward-thinking ideas can carry traces of the past. The result is a story that embraces empathy, technology, and change while cautioning us to examine the ideologies quietly embedded in them. The tower may rise high, but it’s still grounded in history, bias, and contradiction.

In the end, Sympathy Tower Tokyo isn’t really a story about AI, architecture, or even justice. It’s a story about language, how it shifts, how it connects, and how it fails to define. Through its layered narrative and philosophical depth, Qudan invites us to examine language and its cultural underpinnings more closely. I loved it.

got_quiet

Tl;dr I got some Hades stuff for Christmas and a new mini phone.

( Read more... )

The phone has not, unfortunately helped me avoid doom scrolling, which was one of the reasons I got it. So I still need to work on that.

fox_in_me posting in

addme

Name:Mr. Fox

Age: 30-something

I mostly post about:
Stories from my life — my thoughts and feelings, especially during this time of war in Ukraine. I try to capture emotions honestly: memories of a peaceful past, reflections on the present, and tales from my life as a mariner and traveler.
This journal is still in its early days, after a long break from writing. Each entry is posted in both English and the original language. I also share my own photographs — from different times, chosen to reflect my current mood.

My hobbies are:
Photography (almost professional), lomography (daily photos of interesting moments), music (acoustic, alternative, instrumental covers), psychology, and classical literature. I love discovering new things — ideas, places, people.

My fandoms are:
Honestly, I’m not active in any specific fandom. But I enjoy reading and learning, especially to improve my English.

I'm looking to meet people who:
…feel connected to what I write — kindred spirits or simply those who find meaning in my words. I’m open to everyone (with one exception: I don’t welcome those who support or excuse the war). My posts are open and honest. I’d love to find new interesting people to read and connect with.

My posting schedule tends to be:
Currently daily, or a few times a week — depending on my free time.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are:
No major dealbreakers — most of what matters is already said above.

Before adding me, you should know:
I’m an open person without any particular agenda. I’m Ukrainian — and perhaps that matters now, just to avoid misunderstandings.
Welcome aboard. These are my messages in a bottle.

Watch on YouTube

lycomingst

Snowflake Challenge #2

Challenge #2: Pets of Fandom

Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want

I have two cats. In the last place I lived I fed the strays everyday. In the summer I had an open window and some of the cats came inside when they wanted. It was open house! I took these two to the vet, spayed/neutered, chipped. They were mine now.

The female surprised me. I thought she was a kitten and I could only tell her from the other gray small cat because of the rings on her tail. But the vet said she was about three. Now she's a little bigger and kinda chubby.

They get along and groom each other but are ready to start a John Wick type fight at any moment. They both really, really want to go outside and I have to go in and out by the back door because I can close the laundry room door before I open the back one.
Thwarted.

Fanwise, I get upset at Dr Who because they kill animals too often, like the dinosaurs. And that cat in the last Dr incarnation.

got_quiet

two log cabins with snow on the roofs in a wintery forest the text snowflake challenge january 1 - 31 in white cursive text

Happy Snowflake Challenge Season!

It's a testament to my messy first week of the year that I'm already late in doing these. Here's 1 and 2 combined.

The Icebreaker Challenge: Introduce yourself. Tell us why you're doing the challenge, and what you hope to gain from it.

Hello, I'm Lea. I also go by GotQuiet in a handful of fandom spaces. My stickied post gives the general lowdown on who I am and what I post about. I find the Snowflake Challenge is a great way to meet new people on Dreamwidth, and to cultivate more frequent posting habits, which sometimes go by the wayside when I get busy or otherwise distracted. It's also fun to chat with people also taking the challenge! Sometimes it's really the only time of year that some of us interact all that much because our journals are otherwise not as aligned in interest, so now I also see it as having a chance to say a friendly hello to DW acquaintances.

I hope everyone has a lovely January and that 2026 is at the very least better than 2025 lol.

And here's Challenge 2:

Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!

Hmm, here's some scattershot responses.

Our family dog was called Luke after Luke Skywalker. I think Marty after Marty McFly was also considered.
Best boy of gaming probably has to go to the Mabari in Dragon Age: Origins who stayed in my party through my entire first playthrough and naturally was named Luke.
My prefered starter Pokemon is always the grass types. Bulbasaur is king. However my preference was always for Digimon and Monster Rancher. The Monster Rancher game kind of sucked, or at least I didn't really have the patience for it, but it had this novel system on the PS2 where you got new monsters by inserting random CDs into the system, and some magic calculation would result in a new monster for you. I had a decent CD collection and I fed all of it into the game lol. That's the only thing I really remember about Monster Rancher.
My early internet life had a large chunk dedicated to the Petz games. There were websites dedicated to "breeders" who offered custom pet files for both breeds and individual pets that you could either take for free or literally put in an adoption application for. I never had a Petz page of my own but I kept track of about a dozen of them. There is a free executable of Petz 4 available now, but it's just not the same now that I'm not 14.
I think the gaming environment would be vastly improved if all fishing minigames were replaced with pet raising minigames.

bubblesbrnaid

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

zarla

Just a brief note considering the imminent LJ collapse/shut down, I've been using a tool called LJArchive to make back-ups of my LJ whenever a scare happens. This recent fork by sharpden (Release 0.9.10) should be able to quickly archive all your posts INCLUDING the comments! It won't save the usericons but it will save any images people post in the comments or anything like that, so it's not perfect but it works! You can also use it to back up communities as well, which I highly recommend doing. It doesn't take very long and it's better to be safe than sorry with this at the moment.

Current Mood: rushed
Now Playing: 笑えるわ / Fushi feat.GUMI

lycomingst

Challenge #1

The Icebreaker Challenge: Introduce yourself. Tell us why you're doing the challenge, and what you hope to gain from it

I am retired and, you know, old. I pledged my allegiance to Buffy when I was going through a major depression. I wasn't an original watcher but there were daily reruns and I caught up. I found drabbles and realized that almost every character that walked across the screen could be written about. I've also written some other fandoms but not so intensely.

I'm just here for the giggles and to read other people's stories.

What I would really like is to finish a wip I've had albatross-like around my neck for quite a while. Maybe this will help.

chromaskies posting in

friending_memes

So in revamping the community, I'm hosting a new years friendzy! I reused a previous years image and questions because I feel they still work. Please consider subscribing to the community for more frienzys. The more that subscribe, the more that can participate, the more friends you may make!

newyearsfriendzy

Fill it out!

The Basics
Name:
Age:
Pronouns:
Country:

The New Year
Do you have any resolutions?:
Are there any new books, music, games, shows, etc. that you want to dive into?:
Are there any small or big events that you're planning for this year?:
Any new interests/hobbies that you'd like to try out?:
Did you accomplish your resolutions from last year?: (If not, that's okay. Just skip this one)
What were your favorite memories from the past year?:
Do you have any new years traditions?:
Is there anything you'd like to do more of in 2026?:

The New Friends
What kind of friend(s) are you searching for?:
What do you like to read about?:
How often do you check your friends feed?:
Do you have any deal-breakers?:
Do you mind reading about fandom?:
If so, what fandoms would you like to read about?:

Currently...
Reading: 
Watching:
Playing:
Thinking about:
Hobby/Interest:
Planning for:

Share it out!

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yamamanama

January 2026

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Style: Neutral Good for Practicality by timeasmymeasure

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Page generated Jan. 9th, 2026 10:47 am

ceci n’est pas un rêve passant

Anathēmata

Reading

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A Passing Thought

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I try to do this once a year:

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~Gotta get me some of that soup!

Hello Possible 2026 Friends

Monday Musings

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The Sunday Relax

Book 1 - Rie Qudan "Sympathy Tower Tokyo"

Gifts and other Material things

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Snowflake Challenge 1 & 2

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~Thanks to Mrs. Wilson's fourth grade class for transcribing our secret clone notes!

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8. A New Year Friendzy!

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January 2026

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