Fandom Snowflake Challenge #5
Jan. 9th, 2026 09:24 amIntroduction Post *
Meet the Mods Post *
Challenge #1 *
Challenge #2 *
Challenge #3 *
Challenge #4 *
Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.
( Fandom Snowflake Challenge #5 )
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.
( Fandom Snowflake Challenge #5 )
And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.
Children of the Atom (Ultimate X‑Men, volume 2) by Peach Momoko
Jan. 9th, 2026 08:58 am
In which Hisako Ichiki meets her stalker and the shadowy cult Children of the Atom discovers the Peter Principle.
Children of the Atom (Ultimate X‑Men, volume 2) by Peach Momoko
Serendipitous Mt Fuji
Jan. 9th, 2026 10:28 pmLate start (not my fault I woke up at 4:30 AM), decided to go to Katase-Enoshima and explore the beach. I'm probably paying for (decent) beach access, compared to other places 90 minutes from Tokyo, might as well use it. ( Read more... )
And I have an appointment downtown this morning...
Jan. 9th, 2026 08:21 amSpecial weather statement for Ottawa-Gatineau today. 70-90 kph winds expected this afternoon. Rain all day, which has already arrived.
Interesting Links for 09-01-2026
Jan. 9th, 2026 12:00 pm- 1. Danish troops told to 'shoot first, ask questions later' if US invades Greenland
- (tags:usa greenland denmark war doom )
- 2. What is the product placement in Lord of the Rings? (read the comments)
- (tags:lotr advertising viaSwampers )
- 3. How do UK voters feel about coalitions, and what kind would they like to see?
- (tags:uk coalition politics polls )
On Monday evening I had the BEST time being repeatedly summoned by someone who (it gradually became clear) was wildly lost in the Duke's Archives.
Context: in Dark Souls, you can put down a summon sign so that other players can* summon you into their game to help them out (at the risk of also opening themselves up to potential hostile invaders).
You can only be summoned by people in the same rough level range as you, so if I don't feel like moving on yet from an area after I’ve completed it, I often put down my summon sign and hang around for a bit before I level up out of the usual range for that area. It’s been a lot of fun.
VERY IMPORTANT CONTEXT: there is no channel for voice or text communication. There's a very limited menu of gestures, and a few signals (e.g. repeatedly tapping the block button to jiggle your shield or weapon, which generally seems to communicate "I'm here, let's go!") which the fandom has evolved by default.
This makes communication challenging. But it also means it makes zero demands on my capacity for verbal conversation or pretending to be a semi-normal human being.
( Cut for length )
Context: in Dark Souls, you can put down a summon sign so that other players can* summon you into their game to help them out (at the risk of also opening themselves up to potential hostile invaders).
You can only be summoned by people in the same rough level range as you, so if I don't feel like moving on yet from an area after I’ve completed it, I often put down my summon sign and hang around for a bit before I level up out of the usual range for that area. It’s been a lot of fun.
VERY IMPORTANT CONTEXT: there is no channel for voice or text communication. There's a very limited menu of gestures, and a few signals (e.g. repeatedly tapping the block button to jiggle your shield or weapon, which generally seems to communicate "I'm here, let's go!") which the fandom has evolved by default.
This makes communication challenging. But it also means it makes zero demands on my capacity for verbal conversation or pretending to be a semi-normal human being.
( Cut for length )
Friday 09/01/2026
Jan. 9th, 2026 11:56 am1) a lazy day inside while it's raining
2) listening to good music while going through my photo's of 2024
3) a nice hot shower
2) listening to good music while going through my photo's of 2024
3) a nice hot shower
Media and Power: 01 Unit 1: Construction of Meaning: Picture Composition
Jan. 9th, 2026 05:17 pmI finally got back to this! Masterlist.
The chapter: Construction of Meaning: Picture Composition.
It was really interesting reading this as someone who has read lots of art theory for the purposes of being better at art, and picked up some more formal theory via vague osmosis from my artsy parents and their books, but not generally thought about composition very deeply from a media analysis angle.
( Read more... )
The chapter: Construction of Meaning: Picture Composition.
It was really interesting reading this as someone who has read lots of art theory for the purposes of being better at art, and picked up some more formal theory via vague osmosis from my artsy parents and their books, but not generally thought about composition very deeply from a media analysis angle.
( Read more... )
Snowflake Challenge #3
Jan. 9th, 2026 10:06 pmChallenge #3
Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.
I was an outsider at school, never really belonged. But when I found fandom, I could be part of a community. It gave me a reason to start writing (hello, fan fiction) and a reason to do art (hello, fan art). I made friends through fandom, some of whom I've known for years now.
When one of my old schools advertised a school reunion recently, I flinched in horror and stayed away.
I would rather go to a sci-fi convention, even if I didn't know anyone there. But I would definitely have more fun.
Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.
I was an outsider at school, never really belonged. But when I found fandom, I could be part of a community. It gave me a reason to start writing (hello, fan fiction) and a reason to do art (hello, fan art). I made friends through fandom, some of whom I've known for years now.
When one of my old schools advertised a school reunion recently, I flinched in horror and stayed away.
I would rather go to a sci-fi convention, even if I didn't know anyone there. But I would definitely have more fun.
Media and Power: Masterlist
Jan. 9th, 2026 05:07 pmGoing through the free university mini-course Media and Power from the University of Iowa.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
An interesting article
Jan. 9th, 2026 09:52 amI stumbled across this essay on community organisation and core web vs. peripheral web structures today. A fascinating read! It's been written by former organisers of a webring called yesterweb which seemed to have exploded in popularity before being shut down. The reflection on this experience (and general web trends) is really interesting.
Some excerpts:
Some excerpts:
The peripheral web can be described as the outskirts of the core web, with platforms such as Mastodon, SpaceHey, Neocities, Discord and IRC chatrooms, Matrix rooms, various imageboards, and others, including various functional clones of core web applications. It is the digital countryside of the corporate megalopolis. Advertising, sales, and data collection are substantially reduced if not entirely eliminated, providing better conditions for people to socialize in and a healthier experience overall. It is composed of web platforms that are hosted on separate infrastructure from the core web by individuals or organizations with various sources of funding. The peripheral web is discovered largely through word-of-mouth and personal research. In other words, bridging the peripheral web to the core web takes a significant amount of effort: the vast majority of internet users remain unaware of its existence.
The rapid increase in popularity of platforms like Neocities and Spacehey were a strong indicator that nostalgia was a significant force driving migration to the peripheral web in recent years. The community was first created when pandemic restrictions were just starting to loosen up. Nostalgia was often the first thing that stood out and appealed to new members: there is comfort in nostalgia, especially during particularly rough times.
However, Nostalgia would often lead to a regressive attitude within the space that made it difficult to achieve any sort of change. Users focused highly on nostalgia would value aesthetics as their primary focus which would lead to a distrust of new tools that did not meet their nostalgic criteria.
The organization began as a handful of individuals working to discover and address the needs of the community. As the community grew larger, it transformed into a loose organization composed of staff members. Finally, a well-defined organization formed at the core of the staff that created a distinction between organizers.
In its loosely organized phase, attempts were made to draw the whole community into organizing efforts. Results were poor because of low participation, and because the participants were mostly composed of the newest members who had the least knowledge about the community. We could not ensure an accurate representation from this setup, so we moved the decision-making as a responsibility for staff members. This would not work out either as moderators had varying levels of commitment and we could not reasonably expect them to take a greater responsibility.
Animal Communication
Jan. 9th, 2026 02:28 amDogs Build Their Vocabularies Like Toddlers
Basket the Border collie seems to have a way with words. The 7-year-old dog, who resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, knows the names of at least 150 toys — “froggy,” “crayon box” and “Pop-Tart,” among them — and can retrieve them on command.
The number is average. Most dogs can learn 100-200 words, typically 150-160. However, a majority of those are verbs like "sit" and "fetch." Nouns are less common, but most dogs learn a bunch of things like "food" and "leash." Having a vocabulary that is mostly nouns is uncommon.
Why a collie? Because people used to teach them the names of the sheep. "All in" is useful, but "Cut Molly" (out of the herd) is even more so.
( Read more... )
Basket the Border collie seems to have a way with words. The 7-year-old dog, who resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, knows the names of at least 150 toys — “froggy,” “crayon box” and “Pop-Tart,” among them — and can retrieve them on command.
The number is average. Most dogs can learn 100-200 words, typically 150-160. However, a majority of those are verbs like "sit" and "fetch." Nouns are less common, but most dogs learn a bunch of things like "food" and "leash." Having a vocabulary that is mostly nouns is uncommon.
Why a collie? Because people used to teach them the names of the sheep. "All in" is useful, but "Cut Molly" (out of the herd) is even more so.
( Read more... )