[Daf Yomi] Maseches Shevuos perek 1-4
Jun. 6th, 2025 01:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lannamichaelsNotes on the first 4 prakim of Tractate Oaths, of which two of them were not about oaths at all.
( Read more... )
lannamichaelsNotes on the first 4 prakim of Tractate Oaths, of which two of them were not about oaths at all.
( Read more... )
The time Padmé lost an Amidala look-alike contest
Jun. 6th, 2025 02:51 pmpetraPadmé, much like Dolly Parton, loses an Amidala look-alike contest. How many of the entrants are in drag? I leave that as an exercise for the reader.
There are definitely drag king portrayals of Anakin and Obi-Wan in their heyday, possibly including makeouts with each other and/or drag king clones.
Anyone who has seen The Empire Strips Back knows what drag!Luke Skywalker is wearing, and as for Leia -- well, I could insert any number of pictures of people doing Leia drag, in any number of costumes, and she’s not even royalty in this galaxy. Who even knows how many hotass drag kings lust after Han’s gender, too.
There are definitely drag king portrayals of Anakin and Obi-Wan in their heyday, possibly including makeouts with each other and/or drag king clones.
Anyone who has seen The Empire Strips Back knows what drag!Luke Skywalker is wearing, and as for Leia -- well, I could insert any number of pictures of people doing Leia drag, in any number of costumes, and she’s not even royalty in this galaxy. Who even knows how many hotass drag kings lust after Han’s gender, too.
Nostalgic Music Party!
Jun. 6th, 2025 07:07 pmoursinAfter a few distinctly less than summery days, today has been quite sunny.
Okay, I think I've had some of these before.... maybe.
Summer Nights
The downside: Summertime Blues:
Not sure if Summer Wine is for drinking then, or made then, with sinister summer herbs:
Obligatory Lovin' Spoonful
Kinks chilling on a Lazy Sunny Afternoon:
Carole King another one wanting it to be over:
Seasons of Fandom- Now Open To New Members!
Jun. 6th, 2025 02:32 pmlaurapalmer posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_community_promo
Introducing
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
seasons_of_fandom, an interactive fandom challenge community/landcomm that allows you to create work for any fandom you can think of! We were previously lands_of_magic, a name we ran under for over 10 years, but we figured we needed a facelift and a name change since it has been a long time since we had only focused on fantasy fandoms. We welcome TV, movies, books, games, music, anime, celebrities... almost anything goes! We have all kinds of challenges- writing, graphics, games, and some challenges that are miscellaneous fanworks! This round we'll also be trying out monthly drabble and icon contests.We have four wonderful teams- The Spring Court, The Summer Court, The Autumn Court, and The Winter Court.
Sign-ups for new members start today, and though our first round under our new name doesn't start until August, we will have two challenges open before the round officially starts. To sign up, all you have to do is read the rules and fill out the survey here.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Hearing on the Federal Government and AI
Jun. 6th, 2025 05:43 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
bruce_schneier_feedOn Thursday I testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform at a hearing titled “The Federal Government in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
The other speakers mostly talked about how cool AI was—and sometimes about how cool their own company was—but I was asked by the Democrats to specifically talk about DOGE and the risks of exfiltrating our data from government agencies and feeding it into AIs.
Meme Friday
Jun. 6th, 2025 07:42 pmslippery_fish19) Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?
A changing one. Basically the character I'm obsessed with at the time of writing.
The rest of the questions are here.
A changing one. Basically the character I'm obsessed with at the time of writing.
The rest of the questions are here.
FAKE Fic: Out Of The Storm
Jun. 6th, 2025 06:18 pmbadly_knittedTitle: Out Of The Storm
Fandom: FAKE
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Dee, Ryo, OMC.
Rating: PG
Setting: After the manga.
Summary: While Dee and Ryo are on a camping trip, the weather takes a turn for the worse.
Word Count: 1313
Written For: Challenge 454: Clean at
fan_flashworks.Disclaimer: I don’t own FAKE, or the characters. They belong to the wonderful Sanami Matoh.
Ficlet: Invasion Of Privacy
Jun. 6th, 2025 06:09 pmbadly_knittedTitle: Invasion Of Privacy
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 605
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: As far as Ianto is concerned, this is a disaster.
Written For: The prompt ‘any, any, i found your journal’, at
threesentenceficathon.Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
(no subject)
Jun. 6th, 2025 09:53 amcahnI know I owe a bunch of comments/replies, sorry, I will get to them; I have spent all my time this week (including time I should have been working... took a nontrivial amount of vacation time this week) on the following:
- looking around at schools for A in case his school gets utterly consumed by the drama (yep, third teacher did leave, now we are screwed unless the Head can find someone really quickly, which to be fair he is working SUPER hard at), unfortunately all my friends who have kids at the local public school were like "if it were ten years ago we'd recommend it, but now we are telling you not to go there"
- talking (and TALKING) to people who are affected by the drama, or who are not directly affected but still angry about the drama, or who are in some cases causing the drama. There is some mean girl stuff going on and it is like, uh, we are all in our 40's and 50's, this is STUPID?? I have been on the phone A LOT this week, to the extent that E has to write a poem for Spanish about a member of her family and told me she was thinking about writing about her mom and how she was on the phone all the time.
- helping E with her final papers/projects in English and Media Arts; for the latter she sometimes needs someone to say things like "if you are making a commercial you probably need a script for it" and for the former she needs someone to be more like, "so... your thesis is made up of two sentences that seem unrelated, and also the way you're structuring this with all your lemma examples and then all your other lemma examples does not really flow very well, and also you begin several sentences in a row with 'This shows'" (some of these are the limits of approaching a paper like a proof, I guess)
Her teacher lets them rewrite after grading multiple times but does not give them any comments on their draft except for the ungraded rough draft, which means that E is on Rewrite #3 and counting, we have worked on drafts every night this week except last night, as her teacher has not graded #3 yet, which I am hoping is a good sign but might just mean that her teacher is tired of her turning in rewrites
(I do like that her teacher is a bit harsh on grading but lets them rewrite -- Rewrite #3 is quite a bit better than her original graded paper, and I think she's learned a LOT about writing a literary analysis paper, admittedly quite a bit more than I knew at her age. But more feedback would have been really nice, and then maybe she could have done fewer rewrites.)
She also has another final project in English with involves writing and illustrating a kid's story about racism, only using animals or objects or shapes instead of people. Of course when "shapes" were mentioned E jumped at that option. Her story is really sweet and involves tessellations of triangles, squares, and hexagons, but she is definitely a "tell not show" kid and also is having trouble with the part of the assignment that directs them to use descriptive language, which just goes to show you that she is legitimately D's and my kid.
In conclusion: ugh, drama. The only good things about all the drama:
- I may actually finish the crochet blanket for E that I've been working on for uh two years but have been making lots of progress on during all these phone calls? (Also getting lots of time to work on it during tutoring E, but at least that has other good things about it besides the blanket.)
- man I appreciate the other non-dramatic parts of my life a LOT more now! Including DW and all of my non-dramatic friends (the vast majority of them!) but I've also been thinking a lot of my church which is my other big social structure. There was one day where I just looked at my phone texts I'd gotten that day and half of them were school-related and were all drama, and the other half were from my church and things like "Hey, can you play piano for us?" and "I haven't forgotten about the D&D group we were talking about with E!" <-- dude and wife had a BABY last week -- and my favorite, this sweet older lady that we are friends with texting me that she went to her eye appointment and they said everything was great, and she was just happy about that. That totally brightened my day <3 And this morning they had the "morning seminary" party (these kids go to 7am scripture study five days a week -- E does it 3 days a week) and these people just give SO much <3
(edited bc cannot do math)
- looking around at schools for A in case his school gets utterly consumed by the drama (yep, third teacher did leave, now we are screwed unless the Head can find someone really quickly, which to be fair he is working SUPER hard at), unfortunately all my friends who have kids at the local public school were like "if it were ten years ago we'd recommend it, but now we are telling you not to go there"
- talking (and TALKING) to people who are affected by the drama, or who are not directly affected but still angry about the drama, or who are in some cases causing the drama. There is some mean girl stuff going on and it is like, uh, we are all in our 40's and 50's, this is STUPID?? I have been on the phone A LOT this week, to the extent that E has to write a poem for Spanish about a member of her family and told me she was thinking about writing about her mom and how she was on the phone all the time.
- helping E with her final papers/projects in English and Media Arts; for the latter she sometimes needs someone to say things like "if you are making a commercial you probably need a script for it" and for the former she needs someone to be more like, "so... your thesis is made up of two sentences that seem unrelated, and also the way you're structuring this with all your lemma examples and then all your other lemma examples does not really flow very well, and also you begin several sentences in a row with 'This shows'" (some of these are the limits of approaching a paper like a proof, I guess)
Her teacher lets them rewrite after grading multiple times but does not give them any comments on their draft except for the ungraded rough draft, which means that E is on Rewrite #3 and counting, we have worked on drafts every night this week except last night, as her teacher has not graded #3 yet, which I am hoping is a good sign but might just mean that her teacher is tired of her turning in rewrites
(I do like that her teacher is a bit harsh on grading but lets them rewrite -- Rewrite #3 is quite a bit better than her original graded paper, and I think she's learned a LOT about writing a literary analysis paper, admittedly quite a bit more than I knew at her age. But more feedback would have been really nice, and then maybe she could have done fewer rewrites.)
She also has another final project in English with involves writing and illustrating a kid's story about racism, only using animals or objects or shapes instead of people. Of course when "shapes" were mentioned E jumped at that option. Her story is really sweet and involves tessellations of triangles, squares, and hexagons, but she is definitely a "tell not show" kid and also is having trouble with the part of the assignment that directs them to use descriptive language, which just goes to show you that she is legitimately D's and my kid.
In conclusion: ugh, drama. The only good things about all the drama:
- I may actually finish the crochet blanket for E that I've been working on for uh two years but have been making lots of progress on during all these phone calls? (Also getting lots of time to work on it during tutoring E, but at least that has other good things about it besides the blanket.)
- man I appreciate the other non-dramatic parts of my life a LOT more now! Including DW and all of my non-dramatic friends (the vast majority of them!) but I've also been thinking a lot of my church which is my other big social structure. There was one day where I just looked at my phone texts I'd gotten that day and half of them were school-related and were all drama, and the other half were from my church and things like "Hey, can you play piano for us?" and "I haven't forgotten about the D&D group we were talking about with E!" <-- dude and wife had a BABY last week -- and my favorite, this sweet older lady that we are friends with texting me that she went to her eye appointment and they said everything was great, and she was just happy about that. That totally brightened my day <3 And this morning they had the "morning seminary" party (these kids go to 7am scripture study five days a week -- E does it 3 days a week) and these people just give SO much <3
(edited bc cannot do math)
Packing AGAIN
Jun. 6th, 2025 11:51 amlydamorehouse Somehow our house looks more chaotic and full of half-filled bags and boxes as we prepare for a week long vacation to the northwoods. ONE WEEK! You'd think we were packing to move out!
The thing about the place we're headed is that the closest town with a grocery store is twenty minutes down the Gunflint Trail. I mean, I will drive twenty minutes to a store around here. Maybe because we're surrounded by TREES, twenty minutes away feels so much further when we're up north. Half of what we're bringing is food. Almost none of which will be returning with us.
Despite all this, I'm really looking forwrard to the vacation. There is limited wireless, but I usually get up early and make the hike to the Lodge with my computer and spend an hour or so making sure I'm not missing out on any earth-shattering news. So, I'm still reachable, just... only once a day. I'm going to try to post pictures and such--you know, actually keep up with this blog for once!
The thing about the place we're headed is that the closest town with a grocery store is twenty minutes down the Gunflint Trail. I mean, I will drive twenty minutes to a store around here. Maybe because we're surrounded by TREES, twenty minutes away feels so much further when we're up north. Half of what we're bringing is food. Almost none of which will be returning with us.
Despite all this, I'm really looking forwrard to the vacation. There is limited wireless, but I usually get up early and make the hike to the Lodge with my computer and spend an hour or so making sure I'm not missing out on any earth-shattering news. So, I'm still reachable, just... only once a day. I'm going to try to post pictures and such--you know, actually keep up with this blog for once!
Made in Korea by Jeremy Holt (2022)
Jun. 6th, 2025 12:47 pmpauraqueNext up for Pride Month media, I read Made in Korea, a graphic novel about an android called Jesse who is purchased by a childless couple to be their daughter. Both the author Jeremy Holt and the illustrator George Schall are nonbinary (they/them).
I had mixed feelings about this one. On the positive side, I really liked how the themes of identity and coming to know oneself were explored. Jesse's story is at least partly a metaphor for transnational adoption (Holt is an adoptee) and also resonates with more general feelings about not being the child your parents expected and needing to grow out of their narrative about you. Gender identity is directly addressed, which I love to see in an android story! It bugs me when androids uncritically accept a binary gender role based on the anatomy they're built with, even when the story digs into their personhood and free will in other ways. This book does not assume that an android built to look anatomically female is a girl, nor does it assume that if androids existed they would all be built with binary anatomy!
The major aspect that did not work for me was the plot element of ( a school shooting. (cut for content) )
So there was a lot that I liked, but also a pretty big section of the narrative that seemed totally out of place and mishandled. I don't regret reading the book and I think some aspects will stick with me in a good way, I just wish it had kept the focus on its strengths.
I had mixed feelings about this one. On the positive side, I really liked how the themes of identity and coming to know oneself were explored. Jesse's story is at least partly a metaphor for transnational adoption (Holt is an adoptee) and also resonates with more general feelings about not being the child your parents expected and needing to grow out of their narrative about you. Gender identity is directly addressed, which I love to see in an android story! It bugs me when androids uncritically accept a binary gender role based on the anatomy they're built with, even when the story digs into their personhood and free will in other ways. This book does not assume that an android built to look anatomically female is a girl, nor does it assume that if androids existed they would all be built with binary anatomy!
The major aspect that did not work for me was the plot element of ( a school shooting. (cut for content) )
So there was a lot that I liked, but also a pretty big section of the narrative that seemed totally out of place and mishandled. I don't regret reading the book and I think some aspects will stick with me in a good way, I just wish it had kept the focus on its strengths.
Mostly Kindle Daily Deals!
Jun. 6th, 2025 03:30 pmsmartbitches_feedThe Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen
RECOMMENDED: The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman by KJ Charles is $1.99 and a KDD! Carrie gave this one a B+:
The strengths of this book are in the balancing of conflict with humor and optimism, the rich characterizations, and the portrayal of life on the marsh, as well as a romance between two opposites. It’s entertaining, exciting, and immersive. While I wanted a little more from the ending, I enjoyed this book overall!
Abandoned by his father, Gareth Inglis grew up lonely, prickly, and well-used to disappointment. Still, he longs for a connection. When he meets a charming stranger, he falls head over heels—until everything goes wrong and he’s left alone again. Then Gareth’s father dies, turning the shabby London clerk into Sir Gareth, with a grand house on the remote Romney Marsh and a family he doesn’t know.
The Marsh is another world, a strange, empty place notorious for its ruthless gangs of smugglers. And one of them is dangerously familiar…
Joss Doomsday has run the Doomsday smuggling clan since he was a boy. When the new baronet—his old lover—agrees to testify against Joss’s sister, Joss acts fast to stop him. Their reunion is anything but happy, yet after the dust settles, neither can stay away. Soon, all Joss and Gareth want is the chance to be together. But the bleak, bare Marsh holds deadly secrets. And when Gareth finds himself threatened from every side, the gentleman and the smuggler must trust one another not just with their hearts, but with their lives.
The Friend Zone
The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan is $1.99! It’s also a Kindle Daily Deal. We have book one on sale earlier this week; this is book two. If you’re looking to collect the whole series, snap this one up.
Gray doesn’t make friends with women. He has sex with them. Until Ivy.
The last thing star tight-end Gray Grayson wants to do is drive his agent’s daughter’s bubblegum pink car. But he needs the wheels and she’s studying abroad. Something he explains when she sends him an irate text to let him know exactly how much pain she’ll put him in if he crashes her beloved ride. Before he knows it, Ivy Mackenzie has become his best texting bud. But then Ivy comes home and everything goes haywire. Because the only thing Gray can think of is being with Ivy.
Ivy doesn’t have sex with friends. Especially not with a certain football player. No matter how hot he makes her…
Gray drives Ivy crazy. He’s irreverent, sex on a stick, and completely off limits. Because, Ivy has one golden rule: never get involved with one of her father’s clients. A rule that’s proving harder to keep now that Gray is doing his best to seduce her. Her best friend is fast becoming the most irresistible guy she’s ever met.
Which means Gray is going to have to use all his skills to win Ivy’s heart. Game on.
A Deadly Inside Scoop
A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette is $1.99 and the last of the KDDs on the list! This is book one in a cozy mystery series where the heroine works in her family’s ice cream parlor.
This book kicks off a charming cozy mystery series set in an ice cream shop–with a fabulous cast of quirky characters.
Recent MBA grad Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over her family’s ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she’s going back to basics. Wyn is renovating Crewse Creamery to restore its former glory, and filling the menu with delicious, homemade ice cream flavors—many from her grandmother’s original recipes. But unexpected construction delays mean she misses the summer season, and the shop has a literal cold opening: the day she opens her doors an early first snow descends on the village and keeps the customers away.
To make matters worse, that evening, Wyn finds a body in the snow, and it turns out the dead man was a grifter with an old feud with the Crewse family. Soon, Wyn’s father is implicated in his death. It’s not easy to juggle a new-to-her business while solving a crime, but Wyn is determined to do it. With the help of her quirky best friends and her tight-knit family, she’ll catch the ice cold killer before she has a meltdown . . .
A Lady’s Guide to London
A Lady’s Guide to London by Faye Delacour is $2.51 at Amazon and $2.99 elsewhere. This is book two in the Lucky Ladies of London series and features an enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine romance.
An enemies-to-lovers historical romantic comedy between a grumpy Viscount with a rocky reputation and a bright-as-sunshine heiress determined to make something of herself, perfect for fans of Evie Dunmore, India Holton and Bridgerton.
If he won’t add her business into his guidebook, she’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.
Della Danby is determined to prove she’s more than just a flighty heiress riding on her parents’ money to get through life. When her closest friend and business partner finds her hands full with a new baby, Della takes the opportunity to shoulder more responsibility at their ladies’ gambling club and secure their financial stability, and she has the perfect to drum up new business by adding their club to a popular guidebook of local attractions.
Gambling ruined Viscount Lyman Ashton’s life and his marriage. He has no intention of putting a new club in his guide, nor of getting involved with its intriguing and energetic proprietress. But when Della refuses to take no for an answer and approaches his publisher with a plan to write her own book of attractions for ladies, Lyman reluctantly agrees to collaborate with her in exchange for the money he so desperately needs to pay his debts. As they grow closer, Lyman finds himself falling for Della even though his past could jeopardize her reputation. But if they can ever have a future together, Della may have to choose between the club she’s worked so hard to build and her chance at love.
Falling for His Rival
Jun. 6th, 2025 08:42 amartemisdart posting in unconventionalcourtshipFalling for His Rival (21,217 words) by ArtemisDart
Chapters: 4/4
Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux
Characters: Poe Dameron, Armitage Hux
Additional Tags: Unconventional Courtship 2025, Modern Era, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Reality TV, Alternate Universe - Reality Show, Food, Recipes, POV Alternating, Armitage Hux Has Issues, Armitage Hux Has No Chill, Armitage Hux Has a Bad Childhood, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Gay Poe Dameron, Poe Dameron is a Menace, Flirty Poe Dameron, Rivals With Benefits, Enemies to Lovers
Summary:
Blurb taken from Falling for Her Rival, by Jackie Braun
For chef Poe Dameron, it's time to turn up the heat. Three years ago he hit rock bottom. Now he's ready for a comeback, starting with winning a TV competition to secure a spot running New York's trendiest kitchen! He just didn't count on his attraction to rival Armitage Hux burning a hole in his plans…
Hux has worked his apron off for this opportunity, and total focus on the competition was the plan — which is difficult when all he can think about is wanting his opponent out of the kitchen and in his bed! But there can only be one winner, and sometimes, to win, a guy has to play dirty!
Chapters: 4/4
Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux
Characters: Poe Dameron, Armitage Hux
Additional Tags: Unconventional Courtship 2025, Modern Era, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Reality TV, Alternate Universe - Reality Show, Food, Recipes, POV Alternating, Armitage Hux Has Issues, Armitage Hux Has No Chill, Armitage Hux Has a Bad Childhood, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Gay Poe Dameron, Poe Dameron is a Menace, Flirty Poe Dameron, Rivals With Benefits, Enemies to Lovers
Summary:
Blurb taken from Falling for Her Rival, by Jackie Braun
For chef Poe Dameron, it's time to turn up the heat. Three years ago he hit rock bottom. Now he's ready for a comeback, starting with winning a TV competition to secure a spot running New York's trendiest kitchen! He just didn't count on his attraction to rival Armitage Hux burning a hole in his plans…
Hux has worked his apron off for this opportunity, and total focus on the competition was the plan — which is difficult when all he can think about is wanting his opponent out of the kitchen and in his bed! But there can only be one winner, and sometimes, to win, a guy has to play dirty!
Report on the Malicious Uses of AI
Jun. 6th, 2025 02:41 pmbruce_schneier_feedOpenAI just published its annual report on malicious uses of AI.
By using AI as a force multiplier for our expert investigative teams, in the three months since our last report we’ve been able to detect, disrupt and expose abusive activity including social engineering, cyber espionage, deceptive employment schemes, covert influence operations and scams.
These operations originated in many parts of the world, acted in many different ways, and focused on many different targets. A significant number appeared to originate in China: Four of the 10 cases in this report, spanning social engineering, covert influence operations and cyber threats, likely had a Chinese origin. But we’ve disrupted abuses from many other countries too: this report includes case studies of a likely task scam from Cambodia, comment spamming apparently from the Philippines, covert influence attempts potentially linked with Russia and Iran, and deceptive employment schemes.
Reports like these give a brief window into the ways AI is being used by malicious actors around the world. I say “brief” because last year the models weren’t good enough for these sorts of things, and next year the threat actors will run their AI models locally—and we won’t have this kind of visibility.
open thread – June 6, 2025
Jun. 6th, 2025 03:00 pmaskamanager_feedIt’s the Friday open thread!
The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on any work-related questions that you want to talk about (that includes school). If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to take your questions to other readers.
* If you submitted a question to me recently, please do not repost it here, as it may be in my queue to answer.
The post open thread – June 6, 2025 appeared first on Ask a Manager.
