Rachel Manija Brown's Blog, page 87

August 27, 2020

Victory!

Look what I found this morning.

I planted multiple varieties and have no idea which ones germinated/survived. I'm hoping I'll get at least one more color...

My vines grow several inches in a 24-hour period. I'm trying to keep them out of the neighbors' property, so every morning I go out to grab the vines that are growing over the top of the fence and redirect them. I regularly pull down 4-5 inch strands that weren't there the day before!

My potatoes are also thriving. If I had more space, I could feed the neighborhood.

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Published on August 27, 2020 13:44

August 19, 2020

A new and exciting injury: advice wanted

Pro: Thank you to everyone who suggested exercises for my hip/side/low back thing. They worked! It's basically gone!

Con: This morning I managed to strain a completely different area. It's my upper left back, around the shoulder blade. This is a weak area from an old injury and I know what to do about it in the long term. (It's from when I cracked my T8 vertebra in a high-speed, rollover car crash in 2004.)

However, it's been... wow... sixteen years since I had an acute back injury rather than a chronic one. It hurts to take a deep breath. It hurts to bend over or lean forward. Etc.

I'm sure it's some form of muscle strain, not a disc injury or anything along those lines. That is, I do not think this is anything which requires a doctor's care.

Advice solicited. I have ice/hot packs and diazepam which I can press into service as a muscle relaxant. Also acetaminophen/paracetemol and various NSAIDs.

(I don't know exactly what I did, but I'm going to go out on a limb and assume it was gardening-related. I do know the proper way to lift but I've been doing a lot of heavy lifting, watering, bending, squatting, etc, and all it takes is one wrong move.)

Speaking of which... HELP. MY GARDEN. We're currently having a record heat wave (99 degrees for at least the next week), I have a bazillion plants scattered all over the place, and I have multiple projects in process that would be hard to explain to others.

I think I can offload some of the heavy watering on neighbors, but would it be disastrous if I did a little watering/other light work? What if I just eliminated all heavy lifting and did tasks very slowly and carefully? Like if I used a tiny can so I'm doing more trips back and forth to the watering can, but I'm never carrying anything heavy?

Advice that I am NOT soliciting: suggesting that I consult a doctor or PT. I already made an emergency doctor's visit this week for a completely unrelated matter (ear infection, it's fine now) and no fucking way am I exposing myself to the plague again. The receptionist didn't wear a mask and I got charged $500 for a ten-minute visit, then I got prescribed the wrong medication, then the pharmacist gave me a completely different but also excitingly wrong medication, then I had to literally grab the correct medication and run after the pharmacist nearly snatched it back because the doctor hadn't told me how long I was supposed to take it.

So fuck American doctors. I'd love to see a PT but not at risk of my life.

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Published on August 19, 2020 11:31

August 10, 2020

Alert for Americans

As you have probably heard, the US Post Office has been sabotaged by Trump appointee Louis DeJoy. What you may not be aware of is exactly how bad the damage is.

I recently had a box of perishable pastries mailed to me from one section of Los Angeles to another. When they arrived, the postmark showed that they had been sent Priority 1-Day mail on July 22. They arrived on August 9 - almost three weeks later.

Earlier, I had a box of refrigerated medication sent Priority 1-Day mail. It was stuck in transit for nine days. Like the pastries, it was ruined by the time of arrival.

Those are the most egregious examples, but since DeJoy took over, my mail has generally been unreliable and sometimes doesn't arrive at all.

Many states in America will throw out ballots that arrive late, even if they were postmarked on Election Day. Trump has already stated that he intends the election to be decided by the end of the day of Election Day, regardless of how many mail-in ballots have not been counted. He's also already stated that he considers mail-in ballots to be often fraudulent and invalid.

If you intend to vote by mail and your state has ballot drop-off boxes, don't mail your ballot. Put it in a drop-off box. Mailed-in ballots are liable to arrive weeks late or never.

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Published on August 10, 2020 13:28

August 8, 2020

rachelmanija @ 2020-08-08T14:09:00

I have dreamed of forgetting to wear a mask at a large maskless gathering every night for at least the past week. STOOOOOOOOOOP.

If the pandemic is still affecting your daily life, what sort of pandemic dreams have you all been having? Or do you dream of going to movies and parties and other Before Times?

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Published on August 08, 2020 14:12

August 7, 2020

August 6, 2020

The Ninth Configuration

Amazon has a lot of strange and obscure movies which are free if you have Amazon Prime.  [personal profile] scioscribe and I have been whiling away the pandemic by watching them. This is also where Phase IV came from.

The Ninth Configuration was written and directed by William Peter Blatty as a sequel The Exorcist, based on his book titled Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane! [exclamation point included]. Apparently the astronaut in it was meant to be the one who Regan told that he'd die up there. This is never mentioned in the film itself, but... now you know.

The movie consists of about sixteen different movie genres stuck together, six or seven within the first ten minutes, including a Serious Work of Deep Theological Meaning (it's not actually deep) and a touching gay love story which I had no idea was in there and which I liked a lot. 

The opening credit sequence features a John Denver-esque song and images which promise a movie about how wonderful small-town America is, perhaps an ode to an inspiring football coach who imparted homespun wisdom before his edifying death. 

Cut to a gigantic moon rising from the point of view of a moon rocket. Perhaps the wholesome football coach inspired the quarterback to become an astronaut? But the launch is going very wrong. The astronaut is having a freakout, and the launch is aborted as he is dragged away screaming hysterically.

Cut to a spooky castle in a storm, shot in the traditional manner of vampire-infested castles in Transylvania. 

A scholarly, documentary-style voice-over explains that many soldiers developed symptoms of psychosis in the Vietnam war, which meant they required treatment. And so a facility was procured for them in the Pacific Northwest, where they could be housed and treated with the most up-to-date psychiatric techniques. 

Cut back to the spooky castle, which is apparently in... the Pacific Northwest. (Its existence and why it's housing an asylum for traumatized Vietnam vets is explained much later, but in a manner which raises more questions than it answers. The explanation is that it was built by an eccentric rich person... so it was taken over and used as an asylum because it was 1) available, 2) empty, 3) free.)

We see really a lot of the spooky castle interior. It is extremely gothic, and full of creepy gargoyles and life-size stone statues of the Virgin Mary, eerie hooded figures, Weeping Angels, and people with animal heads. It also contains medical equipment, a stuffed boar's head, multiple dogs (nothing bad happens to the dogs), and a poster of a banana with the caption HOW TO READ A BANANA. Because this is the perfect environment in which to rehabilitate a bunch of traumatized, psychotic Vietnam vets. 

Cut to the spooky castle courtyard, which is filled with a bunch of lunatics suffering from Movie Madness.

Here are the diagnostic criteria for Movie Madness:

A. Speech consists entirely of surreal wisecracks, such as "Why don't you go vaccinate a fucking armadillo?"

B. Actions are extremely random, such as hurling oneself on to a dinner table, dabbing paint on your psychiatrist's cheeks, attempting to walk through walls, etc.

C. Funny hats are worn at all times. If necessary, funny costumes and props may be added or substituted.

The next hour or so of the movie consists of Marine psychiatrist Stacy Keach interacting with the Movie Madness lunatics. Every now and then, we are rewarded with some footage of an extremely adorable Komondor named Sir Laurence. This is because one of the lunatics is putting on Shakespeare with dogs. I would have enjoyed watching dog Shakespeare more than I enjoyed this section of the movie. I would have also enjoyed watching Sir Laurence trot around like an animated mop on wheels. 

In this section, a patient flies by on a working jet pack, there's a thankfully brief blackface interlude, Stacy Keach is dressed as a Nazi because the lunatics want to re-enact The Great Escape, and a lot more dogs appear. Also a herd of sheep. A motorcycle is driven through the castle. I think I'm forgetting a lot.

There's a dream sequence of Jesus being crucified on the moon while an American flag flies in the foreground. Put that together with dialogue like "I think this boar was a diabetic," "If God exists, he's a fink, or more likely, a foot," and a cut-rate F. Lee Ermey predecessor screaming "GOOD MORNING, YOU FUCKING VENUSIANS," and that sums up the first half of the movie.

The second half is just as batshit but develops an actual relationship and plot, along with possibly the single worst psychiatric ethics I've ever seen on film and interludes taking place in Apocalypse Now and a B-movie about evil, eyeliner-wearing bikers. The relationship is surprisingly compelling and sweet.  [personal profile] scioscribe describes it here. I have hopes that it will turn up for Yuletide. 

In conclusion, "Can you prove there is a Foot?"

The Ninth Configuration[image error]

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Published on August 06, 2020 15:46

August 2, 2020

Eat, Drink, and Make Merry Reveals and Recs

I wrote four stories for Eat, Drink, and Make Merry:

A Hole in the World. Dark Tower - Stephen King. The ka-tet finds another portal. Or rather, a portal finds them. AKA: Roland vs. a Red Delicious apple.

The Butterfly and the Moth. Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin. Penthe and Arha share a stolen moment, along with some stolen food.

Courting Gifts. Narnia. Edmund and Aravis make each other courting gifts.

Ice. Torchwood. Owen takes care of Tosh after [spoilers].

I really enjoyed reading through the collection. There were a ton of excellent stories, and I haven't even finished the collection yet. In addition to my own gifts which I recced earlier, I particularly enjoyed...

Star Trek: The Next Generation. A Serious Thing by flowerdeluce. Will Riker and Deanna Troi's relationship, viewed as a sequence of encounters with chocolate or things vaguely resembling chocolate. Delightful and very Star Trek.

Star Trek: The Original Series. Fruits of Victory by [personal profile] cyphomandra . Nyota Uhura and Christine Chapel steal away for some experiments with alien fruit, and very non-experimental kissing. Delicious and sensual, also very Star Trek in feeling.

Torchwood. All the stories. [personal profile] sholio and [personal profile] scioscribe outdid themselves. Seriously, all of them are glorious. There's a dark, spooky, sensual Suzie/Gwen story. There's a truly epic "forced to gladiate by aliens" story with bonus emotion-and-senses link. There's an intimate and emotional "Owen the saves the team from their own worst nightmares" story. If you like the fandom, go forth and enjoy.

Twin Peaks. Summer at the End of Time by [personal profile] scioscribe . Utterly gorgeous, painterly Audrey/Cooper story set between seasons 2 and 3.

Umbrella Academy. Alone and A Lone by listlessness. The apocalypse was averted, and Grace and Luther remain in the mansion. A lovely, touching story about two people alienated from their bodies who slowly come together over the rituals of home and food.

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Published on August 02, 2020 13:12

August 1, 2020

Exercises for lower back?

Please suggest exercises or stretches for my lower back issue. Normally I would see a PT but it's the apocalypse so...

The problem area is my left lower back and side, a couple inches above and below where the butt begins. I also have it a bit on the right side, but not as much. It definitely feels like muscular pain, not nerve pain. I'm guessing it has to do with unwise or repetitive movements crouching down to pull and clip weeds from around the sidewalk.

I will knock off the weeding for a bit, but in the interim, can you suggest some stretches for the area? And/or exercises to strengthen it?

I have a foam roller, various strengths of bands, and a peanut roller ball.

I consistently have problems with my left side, which is also consistently stiffer than my right, so the location probably has more to do with pre-existing issues than with me working my left harder than my right.

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Published on August 01, 2020 13:29

July 27, 2020

Fannish happiness

Last night I dreamed that exchange gifts needed to be picked up in person, and the location was assigned by mods. When the exchange opened, I discovered that the gift stories I'd written had been placed inside a local vacant lot, which can only be accessed by squeezing through a locked gate. I was very worried that my recipients would be unable to get to their gifts.

But luckily, the bar to entry is much lower than that. Here are two exchanges you may want to check out:

Signups/nominations for [community profile] kingofexchanges , the Stephen King exchange modded by myself, [personal profile] sholio , and [personal profile] scioscribe , close tomorrow night. Come on in!

Eat, Drink, and Make Merry, a food-and-drink centered exchange, is open! The archive is full of stories in many fandoms, and also original works.

I got three wonderful, long, juicy, tasty, and satisfying stories.

Original Works:

On Schedule. An original story for my request for Avant-Garde Food Truck Chef/Traditional Food Truck Chef, an utterly delightful and often hilarious story set in an extremely recognizable Los Angeles, complete with edible receipts, TikTok-obsessed younger brothers, and avant-garde, Instagram-ready rectangular banh mi.

Torchwood:

I got two lovely stories based on the same prompt. I love it when that happens - it's endlessly fascinating to me to see different takes on the same prompt. Both stories are inventive, clever, funny, heartwarming, and full of team love and food descriptions. They're also extremely spoilery for a canon development late-ish in the show, so don't click if you don't want to be spoiled.

A Lifetime of Pomegranates

Mary Celeste

Have you found anything you enjoyed in the collection?

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Published on July 27, 2020 09:36

July 23, 2020

King of Exchanges Letter

Thank you for writing for me!

My requests are for fic, but if anyone feels moved to make me an art treat, I would be delighted.

For any prompts where I say it would be OK to mix-and-match the character sets, or if it would make sense to include more characters in your story, feel free to include any characters from any of the fandoms I nominated characters from.

I would be happy with a story of any length, from an epic to 500 words exactly. Of course, as a King fan, I adore long stories. However, some of my favorite exchange stories are extremely short, and that length is especially good for horror. So seriously: anything is fine.

General DNWs )

Crossover Fandom )

Dark Tower - Stephen King )

The Stand - Stephen King )

The Stand (1994) )

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Published on July 23, 2020 22:44