The Haunting of Villa Diodati - Doctor Who icons
Mar. 7th, 2026 08:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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some movies
Mar. 6th, 2026 09:04 pmsnickficDrowning by Numbers (1988). A woman, her daught, and her niece are all named Cissie, drown their husbands, and depend on the local coroner Madgett (Bernard Hill) to cover up their crimes.
This is a surrealist late-80s comedy meditating on death and also games and numbers of various kinds, which is to say it feels very much of a piece with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, except for having no Shakespeare and being more focused on female characters. It's all nonsense; nobody is really a real person here, and that's fine. It's also pretty horny in various ways, and in fact Madgett proposes to each of the Cissies in turn. You kind of want him to succeed with one or possibly all of them.
If you want a sense of what you're in for with this movie, Madgett's introduction gives you a pretty good one.
--
The Bride! (2026). Maggie Gyllenhaal directs this riff on the Frankenstein mythos, this time a sometime-musical Bonnie and Clyde story about Frankenstein's creature Frank (Christian Bale), still alive in the 1930s, and the bride (Jessie Buckley) that he talks a mad scientist into "reinvigorating" for him. The dead woman thus invigorated was a mobster's call girl, but she doesn't remember any of that anymore. Sometimes Mary Shelley talks to her for some reason.
If you get the sense from this description that this movie has a lot going on, you are correct. I would say this movie is less than the sum of its parts, but I really enjoy several of those parts. Buckley is fantastic, and Annette Bening as Doctor Euphronius is delightful. The big dance number is fun. The movie has a lot of style and is sometimes cheekily anachronistic.
The various pieces don't ever really cohere; there are too many of them. And some of the pieces I enjoyed less, like the Overboard-style plot where our revived gal thinks she's still alive and was already married to Frank before her "accident." The subplot of her being occasionally literally possessed by Mary Shelley was just baffling to me. I get that it was supposed to be thematic, but: why. But, the movie tackles all its various tones and themes with a lot of energy and verve, and overall I found a lot to enjoy.
--
Send Help (2026). A frumpy woman who dreams of competing on Survivor crashlands on an island with her horrible boss.
This is a psychological thriller by Sam Raimi, and it took me a long time to go see it because ~suspense movies about people chasing each other around trying to kill each other aren't usually my thing. (See also: every home invasion movie except You're Next.) But! We don't really get that until the end, and in the meantime, Rachel McAdams is delightful as Linda Little, who's competent and helpful to a fault until she's finally pushed too far. I love how much of a glow-up Linda gets the longer they stay on the island. There were also some late developments that I really liked.
It's not breaking any new ground, but it's fun and well-executed. If you support women's wrongs(tm), I think you'll enjoy this.
This is a surrealist late-80s comedy meditating on death and also games and numbers of various kinds, which is to say it feels very much of a piece with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, except for having no Shakespeare and being more focused on female characters. It's all nonsense; nobody is really a real person here, and that's fine. It's also pretty horny in various ways, and in fact Madgett proposes to each of the Cissies in turn. You kind of want him to succeed with one or possibly all of them.
If you want a sense of what you're in for with this movie, Madgett's introduction gives you a pretty good one.
--
The Bride! (2026). Maggie Gyllenhaal directs this riff on the Frankenstein mythos, this time a sometime-musical Bonnie and Clyde story about Frankenstein's creature Frank (Christian Bale), still alive in the 1930s, and the bride (Jessie Buckley) that he talks a mad scientist into "reinvigorating" for him. The dead woman thus invigorated was a mobster's call girl, but she doesn't remember any of that anymore. Sometimes Mary Shelley talks to her for some reason.
If you get the sense from this description that this movie has a lot going on, you are correct. I would say this movie is less than the sum of its parts, but I really enjoy several of those parts. Buckley is fantastic, and Annette Bening as Doctor Euphronius is delightful. The big dance number is fun. The movie has a lot of style and is sometimes cheekily anachronistic.
The various pieces don't ever really cohere; there are too many of them. And some of the pieces I enjoyed less, like the Overboard-style plot where our revived gal thinks she's still alive and was already married to Frank before her "accident." The subplot of her being occasionally literally possessed by Mary Shelley was just baffling to me. I get that it was supposed to be thematic, but: why. But, the movie tackles all its various tones and themes with a lot of energy and verve, and overall I found a lot to enjoy.
--
Send Help (2026). A frumpy woman who dreams of competing on Survivor crashlands on an island with her horrible boss.
This is a psychological thriller by Sam Raimi, and it took me a long time to go see it because ~suspense movies about people chasing each other around trying to kill each other aren't usually my thing. (See also: every home invasion movie except You're Next.) But! We don't really get that until the end, and in the meantime, Rachel McAdams is delightful as Linda Little, who's competent and helpful to a fault until she's finally pushed too far. I love how much of a glow-up Linda gets the longer they stay on the island. There were also some late developments that I really liked.
It's not breaking any new ground, but it's fun and well-executed. If you support women's wrongs(tm), I think you'll enjoy this.
handy Dreamwidth tricks
Mar. 6th, 2026 07:37 pmsnickficIn one place that's easy for me to find.
- via elasticella: If you'd like to filter by multiple tags, add them via comma with ?mode=all at the end. For example, all my recs posts also tagged with Oasis: https://snickfic.dreamwidth.org/tag/fandom:+oasis,entry:+recs?mode=all
- If you're a paid user, DW allows you to filter out specific tags by other users (for example, my "topic: politics" tag). It's just not easy to find. First you need to make an access filter and put the person on that filter, and then once they are in the filter, click on their name and all their tags will pop up.
One suggestion would be to make a filter with your entire circle in it, and then just take out the tags you don't want. Then that could be your default view of your circle.
Life in the city.
Mar. 6th, 2026 09:15 pmhannahIn helping one of my clients sort through several decades of personal photos, we found the Polaroids of the man sitting on a bed and masturbating with his head out of frame came with a note where he extorted his adoration for her and his desire to masturbate while she watched. Our best guess is he followed her to her building and gave the doorman some story about knowing her and needing her apartment number to get back in touch.
I didn't get a good look and they're long gone by now. I didn't ask why she'd kept them these last few decades or why she decided now was the time to throw them out, either. But the story lives on, and proof positive unsolicited dick pics have been around for as long as the technology for the pics themselves. It was something I'd suspected and in an odd way, it was nice to see the firsthand confirmation.
Only slightly more surprising was seeing someone else pick a cigarette pack out of the trash, fish through the pack, pull out the last one in there, toss the pack away, and start smoking it. I didn't stay to watch, knowing it'd be rude to stare, but boy, what an addiction that is.
I didn't get a good look and they're long gone by now. I didn't ask why she'd kept them these last few decades or why she decided now was the time to throw them out, either. But the story lives on, and proof positive unsolicited dick pics have been around for as long as the technology for the pics themselves. It was something I'd suspected and in an odd way, it was nice to see the firsthand confirmation.
Only slightly more surprising was seeing someone else pick a cigarette pack out of the trash, fish through the pack, pull out the last one in there, toss the pack away, and start smoking it. I didn't stay to watch, knowing it'd be rude to stare, but boy, what an addiction that is.
Xenoblade, Hazbin Hotel, and RWBY icons
Mar. 6th, 2026 07:28 pmsarajayechan posting in fandom_icons[47x] Xenoblade Chronicles (Rex, Pyra, Mythra, Nia)
[65x] Hazbin Hotel (Angel Dust)
[35x] RWBY (Blake/Yang)
Teasers:
Full post here
[65x] Hazbin Hotel (Angel Dust)
[35x] RWBY (Blake/Yang)
Teasers:
Full post here
[ SECRET POST #7000 ]
Mar. 6th, 2026 06:37 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #7000 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #999.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
Music Friday
Mar. 6th, 2026 02:49 pmmuccamukkI guess the joint tour is going well. This is the most wholesome fucking shit I've ever seen.
Friday open thread: overheard on public transport
Mar. 6th, 2026 05:24 pmdolorosa_12I had to catch the bus home after work on Tuesday, instead of my regular train, but this longer, more frustrating journey was made somewhat enjoyable by the conversation two teenage boys were having behind me. They began the trip updating their respective mothers over the phone that they were going to be late home (with many repeated 'love you Mum! Yeah, love you Mum!' and so on), then pivoted to the epic online sleuthing they had undertaken when one of their friends claimed to have a new girlfriend but only provided photographic evidence of this ('It was so easy! All I had to do was reverse image-search the photo and it was obvious he'd just taken photos of a random girl on Instagram and Pinterest!'), then pivoted to the sort of inane philosophising that teenagers think is deep ('Religion is obviously just a tool for social control ... all wars in history were started because of religion — apart from economic wars'), and finally, having exhausted all other lines of conversation, started talking about how much they loved cheese and just naming different types of cheese ('Halloumi!' 'Gouda!' 'Do you know you can make your own mozzarella?' and so on).
I found the whole thing kind of endearing, and it certainly provided entertainment over the course of the 50-minute bus ride.
I never use headphones in public spaces as I like to stay alert, so I have overheard the most ridiculous things over the years, including:
A woman updating one of her friends about a family member who had just been released from prison
A guy spending the entire hour-long train ride from Cambridge to London instructing his letting agent on how to make a legal case for evicting a tenant from his property
A guy spending the entire Cambridge-London train ride talking through various complex financial market trades he was making
A young guy explaining to his girlfriend (I was sitting across from them on one of those sets of four seats around a table) that his afternoon had involved a) stealing a car, b) being chased by police as he attempted to steal said car, c) crashing the car in the police car chase and getting injured, d) the police attempting to take him to the emergency department at the hospital but refusing to go ('The car owner decided not to press charges, so I said to the police that if they weren't arresting me I didn't want to go with them to hospital') — all at absolute top volume such that the entire crowded carriage could hear every single word
I have also overheard so many specialist doctors call up their colleagues and convey huge amounts of sensitive patient information over the phone, in the reception area of our library, seemingly oblivious to the fact that a person sitting at a reception desk is actually a human being with functioning ears.
I find it absolutely excruciating to talk over the phone in public — anything more than arranging meeting times/places or letting someone know I'm running late and I'll basically immediately tell the person that I'll call them back when I'm at home — so it's always mind-boggling to me the amount of highly personal stuff that some people feel comfortable discussing at top volume in crowded public transport.
So, my question for this week's open thread: what is the strangest thing you've ever overheard on public transport?
I found the whole thing kind of endearing, and it certainly provided entertainment over the course of the 50-minute bus ride.
I never use headphones in public spaces as I like to stay alert, so I have overheard the most ridiculous things over the years, including:
I have also overheard so many specialist doctors call up their colleagues and convey huge amounts of sensitive patient information over the phone, in the reception area of our library, seemingly oblivious to the fact that a person sitting at a reception desk is actually a human being with functioning ears.
I find it absolutely excruciating to talk over the phone in public — anything more than arranging meeting times/places or letting someone know I'm running late and I'll basically immediately tell the person that I'll call them back when I'm at home — so it's always mind-boggling to me the amount of highly personal stuff that some people feel comfortable discussing at top volume in crowded public transport.
So, my question for this week's open thread: what is the strangest thing you've ever overheard on public transport?
Take it in their eyes.
Mar. 5th, 2026 10:01 pmhannahThere's been a downpour on and off tonight, hitting a couple hours ago and then coming back loud enough I can't miss it. There was a little snow left in the parks and at the very edges, but this is going to see to everything. The feeling of knowing this is exactly it, more than it felt on Sunday, is somehow both peaceful and unsettling. There's an acceptance and a sense of gratitude of not having missed the moment. It's not something I'm eager to seek out, and it's one I can hold onto and sit with a while.
I put in three bids for this year's Fandom Trumps Hate, two for beta readers and one for a vid. Whether they'll end up getting outbid remains to be seen. I've got at least a day to figure out what my absolute maximum collective bid should be and which ones to prioritize. Not something to think about for the rest of the night, at least.
I put in three bids for this year's Fandom Trumps Hate, two for beta readers and one for a vid. Whether they'll end up getting outbid remains to be seen. I've got at least a day to figure out what my absolute maximum collective bid should be and which ones to prioritize. Not something to think about for the rest of the night, at least.
card pull
Mar. 5th, 2026 04:36 pmharpers_childHeart of Faerie literally fell off the wall on me, so I guess I'll do a pull.
This has been the messiest, most difficult shuffle of my life. Many more shuffles than usual until feeling ready. The actual deck didn't want to move nicely. In the end I did a few flip the deck over and shuffle face up until the cards that wanted to be picked were on top. The third card was third card down from the usual top. Weirdest shuffle of the year. Calling it now.
The Queen of Passage. The Speaker of Truth. Nameless card with a bunch of little mushroom guys.
I'm going to replace this deck with a random pack of cards one of these days. (This is a fond threat.)
Queen of Passage- surrender/transition/trust. inevitability of change. ask for help during times of transition. keep going.
Speaker of Truth- trust/acceptance/open heart. A "face" card and the second one talking about trust. hearing truth sometimes hurts. (truth plus lies equals lies.)
-> clarifying card - cut the deck and grabbed one -> Queen of Shadows - introspection / acknowledgement / balance. stop and look. whole self not just parts. what's being neglected? it's another truth card.
nameless little mushroom guys - a bunch of little mushroom guys hanging out. most of them look friendly. one has it's hands spread in possible invitation.
So what I'm getting from this is seek truth, look into the shadows and bring things in the light, and hang out with some weird little guys. ... Sure.
Thank you so much deck for insisting on being read, fighting the actual physical parts of reading, and then saying the same thing three different ways.
This has been the messiest, most difficult shuffle of my life. Many more shuffles than usual until feeling ready. The actual deck didn't want to move nicely. In the end I did a few flip the deck over and shuffle face up until the cards that wanted to be picked were on top. The third card was third card down from the usual top. Weirdest shuffle of the year. Calling it now.
The Queen of Passage. The Speaker of Truth. Nameless card with a bunch of little mushroom guys.
I'm going to replace this deck with a random pack of cards one of these days. (This is a fond threat.)
Queen of Passage- surrender/transition/trust. inevitability of change. ask for help during times of transition. keep going.
Speaker of Truth- trust/acceptance/open heart. A "face" card and the second one talking about trust. hearing truth sometimes hurts. (truth plus lies equals lies.)
-> clarifying card - cut the deck and grabbed one -> Queen of Shadows - introspection / acknowledgement / balance. stop and look. whole self not just parts. what's being neglected? it's another truth card.
nameless little mushroom guys - a bunch of little mushroom guys hanging out. most of them look friendly. one has it's hands spread in possible invitation.
So what I'm getting from this is seek truth, look into the shadows and bring things in the light, and hang out with some weird little guys. ... Sure.
Thank you so much deck for insisting on being read, fighting the actual physical parts of reading, and then saying the same thing three different ways.
(no subject)
Mar. 5th, 2026 04:18 pmharpers_childSignal boosting a research survey on how childhood experiences impact military based PTSD. Anonymous survey. Results talking about group statistics not specific people. PTSD can be officially diagnosed, suspected, or self-diagnosed. Please share the link around if you know anyone who would be a good fit.
https://uhcno.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0pmAUTlHNFID0KW
https://uhcno.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0pmAUTlHNFID0KW
[ SECRET POST #6999 ]
Mar. 5th, 2026 04:18 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #6999 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 08 secrets from Secret Submission Post #999.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
A linkpost for the northern spring
Mar. 5th, 2026 07:22 pmdolorosa_12I spent a delightful day working from home with the sunlight streaming in through all available (open!) windows, watching birds frolic around our new bird feeder. This latest batch of links has a similarly spring-like feeling — not all are cheerful and light-hearted, but there is a common theme of emerging into light and life.
The first three are all Ukrainian, sparked by the complicated emotions around the four anniversary of Russia's fullscale invasion, on 24th February:
The Kyiv Independent team — journalists, videographers, adminstrative staff and more — took readers behind the scenes to show the ingenuity and determination it took to survive this winter's Russian-inflicted energy crisis and carry on bringing their reporting to the world.
From Ukrainian Institute London, a panel discussion on 'culture as security'
And from chef and campaigner Olia Hercules, a video conversation with Dima Deinega, founder of an (excellent) UK-based Ukrainian vodka company, which ended up being one of the most life-affirming discussions I've experienced.
On other topics:
An interview in the Guardian about being a professional chef in Antarctica
Viatozka, the Persephone Letter, which, to quote tozka, They're subtle marketing, more about vibes, focused on sharing things similar to Persephone Books/the people who enjoy them then about blasting sales info or whatever. If I must be marketed to, I'd rather receive it in this manner: rambly, meandering newsletters or blog posts sprinkled with links to interesting things that give a fuller picture of the person or organisation behind it, rather than just a list of things to buy now.
(Incidentally, the Antarctica link came from a similar newsletter, this one from the Vanderlyle restaurant, which takes a similar approach.)
I think that's it for now.
The first three are all Ukrainian, sparked by the complicated emotions around the four anniversary of Russia's fullscale invasion, on 24th February:
The Kyiv Independent team — journalists, videographers, adminstrative staff and more — took readers behind the scenes to show the ingenuity and determination it took to survive this winter's Russian-inflicted energy crisis and carry on bringing their reporting to the world.
From Ukrainian Institute London, a panel discussion on 'culture as security'
And from chef and campaigner Olia Hercules, a video conversation with Dima Deinega, founder of an (excellent) UK-based Ukrainian vodka company, which ended up being one of the most life-affirming discussions I've experienced.
On other topics:
An interview in the Guardian about being a professional chef in Antarctica
Via
tozka, the Persephone Letter, which, to quote tozka, They're subtle marketing, more about vibes, focused on sharing things similar to Persephone Books/the people who enjoy them then about blasting sales info or whatever. If I must be marketed to, I'd rather receive it in this manner: rambly, meandering newsletters or blog posts sprinkled with links to interesting things that give a fuller picture of the person or organisation behind it, rather than just a list of things to buy now. (Incidentally, the Antarctica link came from a similar newsletter, this one from the Vanderlyle restaurant, which takes a similar approach.)
I think that's it for now.
It's 9 pm, the ground is covered in sheets of ice,
Mar. 5th, 2026 08:52 pmcimoreneand yet this ice cream truck has the fucking cheek to drive by playing its little tune.
It's not time for ice cream!!! The ground is frozen!!! Stop mocking me!!!
It's not time for ice cream!!! The ground is frozen!!! Stop mocking me!!!
March Meta Matters
Mar. 5th, 2026 12:38 amysabetwordsmith posting in fictional_fansmarchmetamatterschallenge is running this month. :D Here is my introductory post. So what is meta? Well, it can be a lot of things ...( Read more... )
Post and Jam: We're Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time) by Trooper [1977]
Mar. 4th, 2026 07:36 pmdelphiFandom 50 #1
I'm trying another March to March round of Fandom 50 (the challenge where you try to make fifty themed posts in a year), and this time around I thought I'd focus on Canadian music. As a bit of extra fun for myself, I'm going to try to find one song I love per year from the past fifty years—and as it happens, 1977 gave us one of my all-time faves.
We're Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time) by Trooper
I'm trying another March to March round of Fandom 50 (the challenge where you try to make fifty themed posts in a year), and this time around I thought I'd focus on Canadian music. As a bit of extra fun for myself, I'm going to try to find one song I love per year from the past fifty years—and as it happens, 1977 gave us one of my all-time faves.
We're Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time) by Trooper
[ SECRET POST #6998 ]
Mar. 4th, 2026 04:22 pmcase posting in fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #6998 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 15 secrets from Secret Submission Post #999.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
Another dad update
Mar. 4th, 2026 04:58 pmcimoreneThey thought they had solved Dad's hallucinations but it was a false alarm.
The sequence of events so far is:
It seems his medical team is dealing with a mystery again. 😔
The sequence of events so far is:
- He starts hallucinating mildly, images of animals etc
- The visual hallucinations escalate steadily and include audio - first talking to absent people, then thinking he is in a variety of different places, finally briefly not recognizing my mom, though he did a minute later
- A new antibiotic is discontinued
- They find a UTI, but all mental symptoms stop, so they think the cause was the discontinued antibiotics
- He starts hallucinating again, more mildly, before the medical team has had a chance to agree to release him from the hospital
- He briefly recovers almost completely, but then gets worse again
It seems his medical team is dealing with a mystery again. 😔