Who is the man in the mirror?
Apr. 24th, 2026 10:39 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
marshallprojectemail_feed
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
“It's like trying to see yourself in the bottom of a Coke can.” Destry McKinney was brushing his teeth one morning in an Alabama prison when he looked up and noticed, to his surprise, a cookie sheet-sized glass mirror among the other seven rusted metallic mirrors. The standard mirrors had distorted the way McKinney and other incarcerated men had viewed themselves for years. The happy discovery prompted him to ask his family to research the psychological effects of not seeing oneself clearly, and they quickly found that such deprivation leads to what’s called “Depersonalization-Derealization Disorder.” In collaboration with the Prison Journalism Project, here is the latest installment of our “Life Inside” series.
|
marshallprojectemail_feed
Ikuta Hanayo (1888-1970)
Apr. 24th, 2026 08:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nnozomi posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
senzenwomenIkuta Hanayo was born in 1888 in Tokushima, where her father was the village mayor and eked out a living from growing tangerines; her maiden name was Nishizaki. She was one of the first to attend the Tokushima Girls’ School, where she read her way through the library. After graduation she worked as an elementary school teacher’s aide and published poems and short stories in the Women’s Literary Magazine; in 1910, after her father’s death, the magazine’s editor helped find her a place in Tokyo, where she worked odd jobs of all kinds and joined the staff of Hiratsuka Raicho’s Bluestocking magazine in 1913.
The following year, a young writer called Ikuta Shungetsu was inspired by Hanayo’s article on love and struggle to get in touch and propose to her. Hanayo was both attracted and concerned by his youth and good looks: she was four years older, and considered herself unattractive and three inches too short (she was 145 cm as an adult). He talked her into it, however, and two weeks after their first meeting they moved into a tenement apartment together and set up two desks in separate rooms. Shungetsu became a published poet and translator; Hanayo looked after him while earning their living as a journalist and continuing to write essays on women’s rights. Based on her own experiences, she wrote that as long as women were denied financial assets and career opportunities, they would have no option but to sell their chastity to eat; this kicked off the “chastity debates” with the writer Yasuda Satsuki, also a Bluestockinger, who argued that a woman would be better off dead than unchaste. Meanwhile Hanayo served as Bluestocking’s editor for some time and also worked with Hasegawa Shigure on the founding of Nyonin Geijutsu {Women’s Arts}.
In 1921 Shungetsu thanked his wife in a published essay: “We are such opposites that I sometimes wonder how we can manage to live together. You are much simpler and more straightforward than I am, free of contradictions, and above all thoroughly good.” However, he went on to have an affair with the poet Eguchi Ayako, a long-time friend of Hanayo’s; she did not hesitate to describe her feelings of betrayal in print. In 1930, Shungetsu killed himself by jumping into the sea. After his death, Hanayo—who had been his amanuensis and his support for sixteen years—became embroiled in a prolonged legal battle with his family for his copyrights, because they had never been legally married; eventually she and his youngest brother produced a jointly edited edition of Shungetsu’s complete works.
During the war, Hanayo continued to work on Nyonin Geijutsu’s successor, Kagayaku, for which she visited Japanese soldiers in wartime China; she contributed to various literary magazines and associations aimed at supporting the national polity. She was injured in 1945 during the firebombing of Tokyo.
In 1946, upon the first postwar General Election, posters used a text written by Hanayo to urge women to vote (“We build the new Japan with the life force of the Japanese people, not just men’s life force, women’s too”). She spent her later years giving well-attended lectures on the Tale of Genji, aimed at women and later published in book form, before her death in 1970 at the age of eighty-two.
Sources
Mori 2008
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanayo_Ikuta#/media/File:1946posterJapan.jpg (Japanese) Election poster with Hanayo’s text
https://www.econ.shiga-u.ac.jp/ebr/Ronso-422kikuchi.pdf (English) Interesting article which touches on Hanayo’s work as a wartime poet in China
The following year, a young writer called Ikuta Shungetsu was inspired by Hanayo’s article on love and struggle to get in touch and propose to her. Hanayo was both attracted and concerned by his youth and good looks: she was four years older, and considered herself unattractive and three inches too short (she was 145 cm as an adult). He talked her into it, however, and two weeks after their first meeting they moved into a tenement apartment together and set up two desks in separate rooms. Shungetsu became a published poet and translator; Hanayo looked after him while earning their living as a journalist and continuing to write essays on women’s rights. Based on her own experiences, she wrote that as long as women were denied financial assets and career opportunities, they would have no option but to sell their chastity to eat; this kicked off the “chastity debates” with the writer Yasuda Satsuki, also a Bluestockinger, who argued that a woman would be better off dead than unchaste. Meanwhile Hanayo served as Bluestocking’s editor for some time and also worked with Hasegawa Shigure on the founding of Nyonin Geijutsu {Women’s Arts}.
In 1921 Shungetsu thanked his wife in a published essay: “We are such opposites that I sometimes wonder how we can manage to live together. You are much simpler and more straightforward than I am, free of contradictions, and above all thoroughly good.” However, he went on to have an affair with the poet Eguchi Ayako, a long-time friend of Hanayo’s; she did not hesitate to describe her feelings of betrayal in print. In 1930, Shungetsu killed himself by jumping into the sea. After his death, Hanayo—who had been his amanuensis and his support for sixteen years—became embroiled in a prolonged legal battle with his family for his copyrights, because they had never been legally married; eventually she and his youngest brother produced a jointly edited edition of Shungetsu’s complete works.
During the war, Hanayo continued to work on Nyonin Geijutsu’s successor, Kagayaku, for which she visited Japanese soldiers in wartime China; she contributed to various literary magazines and associations aimed at supporting the national polity. She was injured in 1945 during the firebombing of Tokyo.
In 1946, upon the first postwar General Election, posters used a text written by Hanayo to urge women to vote (“We build the new Japan with the life force of the Japanese people, not just men’s life force, women’s too”). She spent her later years giving well-attended lectures on the Tale of Genji, aimed at women and later published in book form, before her death in 1970 at the age of eighty-two.
Sources
Mori 2008
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanayo_Ikuta#/media/File:1946posterJapan.jpg (Japanese) Election poster with Hanayo’s text
https://www.econ.shiga-u.ac.jp/ebr/Ronso-422kikuchi.pdf (English) Interesting article which touches on Hanayo’s work as a wartime poet in China
Interesting Links for 24-04-2026
Apr. 24th, 2026 12:00 pmandrewducker- 1. EU approves €90B loan to Ukraine
- (tags:Europe Ukraine GoodNews )
- 2. Parkrun and other sporting bodies face legal action because they're trans inclusive
- (tags:sports law UK bigotry LGBT transgender OhForFucksSake )
- 3. Jane Austen's Seven Horrid Novels: A Tale of Literary Sleuthing
- (tags:history writing janeausten viaSwampers )
Tags:
- bigotry,
- europe,
- goodnews,
- history,
- janeausten,
- law,
- lgbt,
- links,
- ohforfuckssake,
- sports,
- transgender,
- uk,
- ukraine,
- viaswampers,
- writing
Signal Boost
Apr. 24th, 2026 06:53 amstonepicnicking_okapiFYI: Three Weeks for Dreamwidth starts tomorrow! (I know! It snuck up on me, too) Ideas for things folks are doing/might be doing: https://3weeks4dreamwidth.dreamwidth.org/17014.html
3weeks4dreamwidth is celebrating Dreamwidth's anniversary!
Come join in for fun, memes, activities, and more ♥
I was thinking of doing the theme: Arsenic, Belladona, Cyanide, the ABCs of Murder--because why not?
Here's a collage I did with some of my new stuff. The theme is PINK! Which is also an indirect poison reference--they poison themselves, John!
3weeks4dreamwidth is celebrating Dreamwidth's anniversary!Come join in for fun, memes, activities, and more ♥
I was thinking of doing the theme: Arsenic, Belladona, Cyanide, the ABCs of Murder--because why not?
Here's a collage I did with some of my new stuff. The theme is PINK! Which is also an indirect poison reference--they poison themselves, John!
It's Clover Season, Bunny!
Apr. 24th, 2026 10:44 amdailybunny_feedThanks, David and bunny Daisy! David says that “Daisy [is] in the first patch of clover.”
Bright side
Apr. 23rd, 2026 11:58 pmeve_primeWe always have a highly entertaining skit as part of my employer’s annual meeting, and two years ago I got to contribute a little video of reading outside and passing an Olympic torch. This year they’re making another special effort to include those of us who work remotely (I’m not even funded and haven’t been for years) – the skit’s theme is Monty Python and the Holy Grail (I assume substituting “grant” for “grail”), and those of us who are remote were asked to sign up to help sing or whistle an adaptation of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” from The Life of Brian. The revised lyrics are quite entertaining – the challenges of getting funded in an era of forbidden language and sometimes even AI grant reviewers.
I can’t whistle a tune at all, and I’m no great singer – I’ve never seriously considered joining a choir like several of my friends. I do know this tune, though – it’s very simple, and I can sing it in a key that works for me (rather low). So today was my online meeting with L and E, who would record whatever the employee wanted to contribute, whether that was whistling, singing parts of the song, or simply bopping their head from side to side or putting a pet on screen. E sang it to me first… and then I sang it myself. Their reaction was priceless – apparently I did considerably better than anyone else had, up to that point. I suspect that few of the others were even willing to sing at all. They described me as “musical” compared with the others, and I don’t think anyone else has ever done that in my life. So that made me very happy.
I’m not even sure how they can paste the clips together, since each of the singers will be singing in whatever key they wanted, but I’m looking forward to seeing it. Also I had Ajani on screen some too. I’ll get to see it in a week.
I can’t whistle a tune at all, and I’m no great singer – I’ve never seriously considered joining a choir like several of my friends. I do know this tune, though – it’s very simple, and I can sing it in a key that works for me (rather low). So today was my online meeting with L and E, who would record whatever the employee wanted to contribute, whether that was whistling, singing parts of the song, or simply bopping their head from side to side or putting a pet on screen. E sang it to me first… and then I sang it myself. Their reaction was priceless – apparently I did considerably better than anyone else had, up to that point. I suspect that few of the others were even willing to sing at all. They described me as “musical” compared with the others, and I don’t think anyone else has ever done that in my life. So that made me very happy.
I’m not even sure how they can paste the clips together, since each of the singers will be singing in whatever key they wanted, but I’m looking forward to seeing it. Also I had Ajani on screen some too. I’ll get to see it in a week.
Symphony surprises
Apr. 23rd, 2026 11:54 pmeve_primeTonight was the symphony – I’m kind of surprised I even went, since my sleep had been messed up and I wasn’t especially interested. We had a reorchestration of Handel’s “Water Music,” a trumpet concerto by a Russian composer I hadn’t heard of named Böhme, and Schumann’s third symphony. Well! The trumpet concerto surprised me by being beautiful, the Schumann piece surprised me by being slightly familiar, and the “Water Music” – well, it was almost entirely unrecognizable. Instead, it was bizarre and goofy! Fortunately it was first, so it wasn’t my final impression of the concert. I was glad I went.
Book completed
Apr. 23rd, 2026 11:50 pmeve_primeThe Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley. In this prequel to The Blue Sword, we learn about the legendary Aerin, queen of Damar, whose life was by no means like readers probably imagined it. One thing I especially appreciated about the story is that the author spends several chapters at the end wrapping things up in more detail than usual.
It continues
Apr. 24th, 2026 09:38 amgaladhirDespite the rather disparaging title of this post, I've been very pleasantly impressed by the windows people. They did the whole upstairs on Wednesday, not even needing to put ladders up. They just put the outside parts of the window through the gap and pulled it into the socket from the inside.
Then they did all the windows downstairs, and the front door, yesterday. And today they're just finishing off with the patio window/door that leads into the garden and forms the whole wall along the back of the sitting room. This is apparently much more complicated than any of the previous things so it requires a day of its own - certainly they're hard at work on it and have been since 7.55. (It's now 9.43)
I am so pleased with the new front door! The old one was a bit ratty even when we moved in. The blue paint was flaking off and the wood of the doorstep had begun to fall apart - there was a chunk missing. It was also very plain and let the drafts through, and generally we ignored it.
This one however is a nice green colour. It has stained glass, and a knocker in the shape of a bee. It feels sturdier and fits way more snugly in its socket. When the sun shines through the door panels, onto the floor of the hall, it's very beautiful.
The workmen did attempt to force one of our internal doors with a crowbar. (It's a sliding door and it is finicky - there's a knack to it and they didn't have the knack, so they attempted to force it and broke the lock.) But they have fixed that now.
How easy it is for an experienced person to get through a door with a crowbar! A slightly worrying thought.
Well, I think I will get out of the chaos by cycling into town to get groceries and go to the gym. I don't really want to do either of those things, but there's no peace to be had here, so why not?
КРА-СО-ТЕНЬ!
Apr. 24th, 2026 11:01 amselengaУкраинский самолет Ан-28 впервые запустил дрон-перехватчик P1-SUN и сбил "Шахед": "Взрыв! Есть первая цель!". ВИДЕО
https://censor.net/ru/v3612149
https://censor.net/ru/v3612149
New Worlds: At the Public Baths
Apr. 24th, 2026 08:01 amswan_towerIt may seem something of a non sequitur to swerve from talking about friendship to public baths, especially when that latter topic has come up before. But Year Four's essay focused on such baths as a place one goes to get clean, devoting only half a sentence to the notion that they might also be -- often were, and are -- a social nexus.
For this to make sense, you have to expand your mental image well past bathing as the modern goal-oriented shower at home (get in, get clean, get out), and think more in terms of a spa. Or the better comparison nowadays might be a beauty salon, the kind of place you go to get your hair cut, dyed, and/or styled, while somebody nearby is having their nails done. These tasks can take a while, and if your local salon has a clientele of regulars who know each other and the staff, of course people will fill the time with conversation. (Or we did, before people had smartphones to stare at instead.)
Public baths can be just a place to get clean, but that's rarely all they are. As a result, going to one is less likely to be an errand you check off in the middle of your busy day and more likely to be a good chunk of the day all on its own, as you attend to a variety of bodily needs -- at least if you're sufficiently wealthy that you can afford the add-on services, not just quick scrub.
Haircuts are a perennial need, of course, with frequency depending on style, and some kinds of hairdos (especially for women) that take enough time to set up that once done, you leave it in place for a week or more. Those with facial hair may need it trimmed or shaved off, whatever's the fashion; the same can be true of those who need a bald scalp for whatever reason, whether it's status, religion, clearing the way for a wig, or getting rid of lice. Nails also need care, and polish or dyes for those go back thousands of years. Massages are a natural accompaniment when the muscles have been relaxed by warm water -- and, yes, sometimes the "massages" are of the euphemistic kind; bathhouses are a notorious site of sexual activity, be that prostitution or unpaid hookups of an illicit (e.g. homosexual) type.
But massages in the therapeutic sense lead us toward more general medical services. And it turns out that the notion of going to a place of bathing for its "healing waters" is not be entirely bogus! Analysis of the waters in Bath, England -- famed as a healing center since pre-Roman times -- recently uncovered fifteen different species of beneficial bacteria that can help combat E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and other prime culprits for infection. Mind you, it's also possible for the waters of a communal bathing place to become a filthy breeding ground for bacteria that are much less friendly . . .
(I should note, by the way, that concerns over hygiene have also been used as cover for less admirable impulses. Where bathing is communal, you have the question of who's allowed in: not just gender segregation, but also class and racial. Just a bit to the north of me are the remains of the Sutro Baths, an indoor public swimming pool in San Francisco that in 1897 lost a legal battle over prohibiting a Black man from using their facilities. Racists absolutely couched their efforts at discrimination in health terms, casting minorities as inherently "dirty" spreaders of disease.)
The use of public baths for broader medical purposes means that going to such a place could be anything from a quick dip, to your entire afternoon, to several weeks of leisure while you "take the waters" in a suitably tony establishment. So let's look at what kinds of social opportunity that affords!
If it's a regular item on your schedule, odds are fairly good that you can expect to see certain friends (or people you emphatically do not consider friends) every time you visit. That gives you a chance to at least exchange greetings and maybe some quick news about what's going on in your lives: not an in-depth conversation, but that isn't needed when you see each other every week.
Should you be spending more time there, however, more possibilities open up. Steam baths, saunas, and soaking pools give you a reason to lounge around for a while, perhaps enjoying a snack or a drink, or reading a newspaper if your society has those. Now the bath is a place you might go specifically for the purpose of catching up on news and gossip -- useful if a character is trying to investigate something! It can also be an unparalleled opportunity to schmooze, with a socially adept character inserting themself into a nearby conversation with an interesting tidbit or a clever bon mot. The more exclusive the establishment, the more likely it is that this is one of the places the old boys' network (of whatever gender) operates, and gaining access is a great way to get a leg up.
And when it's not just the local bath but a whole town like Bath, now you're looking at sociability on the scale of tourism or a vacation. Whole families or groups of friends go there together, and being invited to join such an excursion signals a particular level of belonging. These trips might be seasonal -- especially if the site is known for its mild climate -- or maybe everybody with the money and freedom to do so decamps there in times of pestilence, hoping the healing waters may protect them. If enough people have gone at once, then this becomes the scenario you've seen in Regency romances: lots of maneuvering around courtship and marriage, with or without a side order of political intrigue.
I have to admit, though, that the core element here always feels a little odd to me. I grew up in a culture that's fine with swimming pools but emphatically does not expect people to get naked around each other -- which is kind of necessary if you're trying to get clean! When I've been at an athletic club with a steam room or sauna, clients are expected to wear towels over key areas. So the notion of some key stages for socialization being clothing-optional is just weird.
But weird is fine. Weird is an opportunity for worldbuilding!
(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://is.gd/KL0Twg)
For this to make sense, you have to expand your mental image well past bathing as the modern goal-oriented shower at home (get in, get clean, get out), and think more in terms of a spa. Or the better comparison nowadays might be a beauty salon, the kind of place you go to get your hair cut, dyed, and/or styled, while somebody nearby is having their nails done. These tasks can take a while, and if your local salon has a clientele of regulars who know each other and the staff, of course people will fill the time with conversation. (Or we did, before people had smartphones to stare at instead.)
Public baths can be just a place to get clean, but that's rarely all they are. As a result, going to one is less likely to be an errand you check off in the middle of your busy day and more likely to be a good chunk of the day all on its own, as you attend to a variety of bodily needs -- at least if you're sufficiently wealthy that you can afford the add-on services, not just quick scrub.
Haircuts are a perennial need, of course, with frequency depending on style, and some kinds of hairdos (especially for women) that take enough time to set up that once done, you leave it in place for a week or more. Those with facial hair may need it trimmed or shaved off, whatever's the fashion; the same can be true of those who need a bald scalp for whatever reason, whether it's status, religion, clearing the way for a wig, or getting rid of lice. Nails also need care, and polish or dyes for those go back thousands of years. Massages are a natural accompaniment when the muscles have been relaxed by warm water -- and, yes, sometimes the "massages" are of the euphemistic kind; bathhouses are a notorious site of sexual activity, be that prostitution or unpaid hookups of an illicit (e.g. homosexual) type.
But massages in the therapeutic sense lead us toward more general medical services. And it turns out that the notion of going to a place of bathing for its "healing waters" is not be entirely bogus! Analysis of the waters in Bath, England -- famed as a healing center since pre-Roman times -- recently uncovered fifteen different species of beneficial bacteria that can help combat E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and other prime culprits for infection. Mind you, it's also possible for the waters of a communal bathing place to become a filthy breeding ground for bacteria that are much less friendly . . .
(I should note, by the way, that concerns over hygiene have also been used as cover for less admirable impulses. Where bathing is communal, you have the question of who's allowed in: not just gender segregation, but also class and racial. Just a bit to the north of me are the remains of the Sutro Baths, an indoor public swimming pool in San Francisco that in 1897 lost a legal battle over prohibiting a Black man from using their facilities. Racists absolutely couched their efforts at discrimination in health terms, casting minorities as inherently "dirty" spreaders of disease.)
The use of public baths for broader medical purposes means that going to such a place could be anything from a quick dip, to your entire afternoon, to several weeks of leisure while you "take the waters" in a suitably tony establishment. So let's look at what kinds of social opportunity that affords!
If it's a regular item on your schedule, odds are fairly good that you can expect to see certain friends (or people you emphatically do not consider friends) every time you visit. That gives you a chance to at least exchange greetings and maybe some quick news about what's going on in your lives: not an in-depth conversation, but that isn't needed when you see each other every week.
Should you be spending more time there, however, more possibilities open up. Steam baths, saunas, and soaking pools give you a reason to lounge around for a while, perhaps enjoying a snack or a drink, or reading a newspaper if your society has those. Now the bath is a place you might go specifically for the purpose of catching up on news and gossip -- useful if a character is trying to investigate something! It can also be an unparalleled opportunity to schmooze, with a socially adept character inserting themself into a nearby conversation with an interesting tidbit or a clever bon mot. The more exclusive the establishment, the more likely it is that this is one of the places the old boys' network (of whatever gender) operates, and gaining access is a great way to get a leg up.
And when it's not just the local bath but a whole town like Bath, now you're looking at sociability on the scale of tourism or a vacation. Whole families or groups of friends go there together, and being invited to join such an excursion signals a particular level of belonging. These trips might be seasonal -- especially if the site is known for its mild climate -- or maybe everybody with the money and freedom to do so decamps there in times of pestilence, hoping the healing waters may protect them. If enough people have gone at once, then this becomes the scenario you've seen in Regency romances: lots of maneuvering around courtship and marriage, with or without a side order of political intrigue.
I have to admit, though, that the core element here always feels a little odd to me. I grew up in a culture that's fine with swimming pools but emphatically does not expect people to get naked around each other -- which is kind of necessary if you're trying to get clean! When I've been at an athletic club with a steam room or sauna, clients are expected to wear towels over key areas. So the notion of some key stages for socialization being clothing-optional is just weird.
But weird is fine. Weird is an opportunity for worldbuilding!
(originally posted at Swan Tower: https://is.gd/KL0Twg)
A Little Bit More On Narcissism
Apr. 24th, 2026 08:31 ampoliphilo The orthodoxy seems to be that narcissism arises out of childhood trauma but I was listening to a woman yesterday who was saying "Rubbish!". She also said don't comfort yourself with the belief that the narcissist is hurting inside because some of them are having a wonderful time.
Personally, I don't think you can categorise human behaviour. Or at least, while it can be useful to put people into categories a point will come where the filing system breaks down. Like I'm a librarian and here's a book that features an Elf detective solving cases in the greenwood- so what shelf do I put it on- Crime or Fantasy?
I think narcissism exists on a spectrum. Some people are just a bit narcissistic and some are full blown. The current US President takes it into the realm of caricature. I doubt anyone is entirely free of the syndrome. I mean, we all like getting our own way, don't we?
Again I believe you can outgrow it. I look at my behaviour as a young man and think, "That was pretty controlling." However, I'm not like that now....
Why was I so controlling? Because the world was well scary and I needed allies. And if my chosen allies didn't entirely see things my way I tried to bend them to my will. In my case narcissism rose out of Fear- and if I'm no longer narcissistic it's because I've stopped being afraid.....
Personally, I don't think you can categorise human behaviour. Or at least, while it can be useful to put people into categories a point will come where the filing system breaks down. Like I'm a librarian and here's a book that features an Elf detective solving cases in the greenwood- so what shelf do I put it on- Crime or Fantasy?
I think narcissism exists on a spectrum. Some people are just a bit narcissistic and some are full blown. The current US President takes it into the realm of caricature. I doubt anyone is entirely free of the syndrome. I mean, we all like getting our own way, don't we?
Again I believe you can outgrow it. I look at my behaviour as a young man and think, "That was pretty controlling." However, I'm not like that now....
Why was I so controlling? Because the world was well scary and I needed allies. And if my chosen allies didn't entirely see things my way I tried to bend them to my will. In my case narcissism rose out of Fear- and if I'm no longer narcissistic it's because I've stopped being afraid.....
Discipline + Blank Canvas
Apr. 24th, 2026 01:16 amrecognitoDiscipline, Pham - I've been in a prose reading rut lately and checked out a few recently published books for some light reading. Discipline is a novel about Christine, a former painter, who writes a novel heavily inspired about her romantic and sexual relationship with her male mentor. She abandoned painting after her experiences at her MFA and "disappears" into her persona as a writer. While on tour for her novel, the mentor contacts her and invites her to his cabin in Maine. She goes, seeking—revenge? Closure? Affirmation? All of the above?
Naturally, this made me think of Blank Canvas: My So-Called Artist Journey, an autobiographical künstlerroman manga by Akiko Higashimura, a prolific shoujo manga artist most famous in the anglosphere for Princess Jellyfish. Higashimura details her childhood ambition to be a manga artist and her relationship with Hidaka, the man who ran an art school/cram school in her hometown. The mentor-mentee relationship is totally different here, along with the perspective, tone, and genre; on the other hand, it's hard to think of another work that's similarly preoccupied with painting, talent, fine arts, and not becoming the artist you thought you'd be despite your mentor's expectations. Putting these two works together really made me think about some of my dissatisfaction with contemporary novels from an aesthetic perspective…
Follow Friday 4-24-36
Apr. 24th, 2026 12:07 amysabetwordsmith posting in followfridayGot any Follow Friday-related posts to share this week? Comment here with the link(s).
Here's the plan: every Friday, let's recommend some people and/or communities to follow on Dreamwidth. That's it. No complicated rules, no "pass this on to 7.328 friends or your cat will die".
Follow Friday 4-24-26: Metal
Apr. 24th, 2026 12:01 amysabetwordsmithToday's theme is Metal.
addme_fandom -- Addme Fandom
Find friends who share your fannish obsessions.
[Active with multiple posts in April.]
beautifulmechanical -- Beautiful Mechanical
Do you love music? We do, too.
[Active with multiple posts in April.]
creativity -- Make It, Build It, Dream It. Creativity.
Sharing creative projects and ideas.
[Somewhat active with last post in June 2025.]
onesongaday -- One Song A Day
Do you love music? So come share, listen & enjoy.
[Active with multiple posts in April.]
vkotd -- V系お勧め
A community for sharing songs by flamboyant Japanese rock/metal bands.
[Active with multiple posts in April.]
addme_fandom -- Addme FandomFind friends who share your fannish obsessions.
[Active with multiple posts in April.]
beautifulmechanical -- Beautiful MechanicalDo you love music? We do, too.
[Active with multiple posts in April.]
creativity -- Make It, Build It, Dream It. Creativity.Sharing creative projects and ideas.
[Somewhat active with last post in June 2025.]
onesongaday -- One Song A DayDo you love music? So come share, listen & enjoy.
[Active with multiple posts in April.]
vkotd -- V系お勧めA community for sharing songs by flamboyant Japanese rock/metal bands.
[Active with multiple posts in April.]
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
Apr. 23rd, 2026 08:02 pmgogollescentIn March the single book I finished was Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, by K. J. Parker, one of many popular and successful fantasy authors working today that I had never heard of until G mentioned him. I like 1) low- or no-magic pre-modern historical fantasy 2) snarky narrators if I find them genuinely funny, so I was immediately curious about the premise: Orhan, a Colonel of Engineers from the fantasy underclass of "milkfaces"--a significant minority of light-skinned people (mostly war slaves or poor freedmen) in the Robur Empire, which is just mumblemumble handwaved Byzantium except with a very dark-skinned, racially homogenous elite, resented as "blueskins" in their turn--finds himself the highest surviving authority in the capital after a well-planned ambush wipes out the Imperial garrison, and has to lead the defense of the city during a protracted siege as they wait for rescue by the navy.
( cut for spoilers & some discussion of IPV and rape in fiction )
( cut for spoilers & some discussion of IPV and rape in fiction )
Write Every Day: Day 23
Apr. 23rd, 2026 09:15 pmsanguinityIntro/FAQ
Days 1-15
My check-in: Another conference day, which meant another early morning, which meant another morning of editing while I waited for my coffee to brew. But I managed to send the story to beta before I took myself off to learn about transportation policy*, so we'll call that a success.
(*A far more engaging topic than it sounds like!)
Day 23:china_shop, dswdiane, goddess47, sanguinity, trobadora
Day 22:badly_knitted, china_shop, cornerofmadness, dswdiane, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan
Day 21:badly_knitted, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, dswdiane, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, trobadora
( More days )
When you check in, please use the most recent post and say what day(s) you’re checking in for. Remember you can drop in or out at any time, and let me know if I missed anyone!
Days 1-15
My check-in: Another conference day, which meant another early morning, which meant another morning of editing while I waited for my coffee to brew. But I managed to send the story to beta before I took myself off to learn about transportation policy*, so we'll call that a success.
(*A far more engaging topic than it sounds like!)
Day 23:
china_shop, dswdiane, goddess47, sanguinity, trobadoraDay 22:
badly_knitted, china_shop, cornerofmadness, dswdiane, goddess47, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, the_siobhanDay 21:
badly_knitted, carenejeans, china_shop, cornerofmadness, dswdiane, sanguinity, sylvanwitch, the_siobhan, trobadora( More days )
When you check in, please use the most recent post and say what day(s) you’re checking in for. Remember you can drop in or out at any time, and let me know if I missed anyone!