Good News

[ysabetwordsmith]

Good news includes all the things which make us happy or otherwise feel good. It can be personal or public. We never know when something wonderful will happen, and when it does, most people want to share it with someone. It's disappointing when nobody is there to appreciate it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our joys and pat each other on the back.

What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?

Comments

[galadhir]

Very very happy that the boat is out of the boatyard, and looking forward to helping with the epic journey that is bringing it across the country to end up closer to the rest of the family. Fingers crossed that my son can get a job and then I will have crossed off most of the major worries that have been plaguing me since last year :)

[helgatwb]

My daughter is having her baby today! First grandbaby! I'm so nervous and excited! Ahhhh!

Congratulations!

[ysabetwordsmith]

That is so exciting! :D

I highly recommend the instruction manual:
https://www.amazon.com/Grandmother-Principles-Suzette-Haden-Elgin/dp/0789204312

Re: Congratulations!

[helgatwb]

Yes, I am going to get this. Seems very useful

Thank you!

Re: Congratulations!

[ysabetwordsmith]

Yay! I'm happy I could help.

Some of the principles really rely on grandmother status, but other gems -- like "No problem is so bad that panic can't make it a lot worse" -- are generally applicable. The whole book is a wonderful combination of insightful theory about what grandmothers are for and practical steps on how to perform that role, with variations on different "styles" of grandmothering.

[acelightning73]

Well, the good news is that the Valentine pavlova worked - it looked messy, but it tasted delicious. And the availability of pasteurized egg whites in a pourable carton makes my life a lot easier - I don't have to separate a dozen or more eggs by hand to make an angel food cake.

And I had chicken with Hunan salted sliced chilis for dinner, which made me happy.

[see_also_friend]

I read a good fanfic that had a well-done 'drop into a fantasy world where you don't speak the language plot.' Plus, one of the secondary characters did an awesome job of a) realizing they were accidentally committing a war crime and b) fixing the problem.

I also stumbled across an interesting website/organization that seems to be advocating for actual Christlike Christianity. I'll have to look it over more re: mission etc, but their videos are really good (at least in my opinion).

Got two new books, one at a thrift store a few weeks ago, the other an impulse buy the other day.

And am getting a bunch of projects done.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>I read a good fanfic that had a well-done 'drop into a fantasy world where you don't speak the language plot.' Plus, one of the secondary characters did an awesome job of a) realizing they were accidentally committing a war crime and b) fixing the problem.<<

Well, that's rare.

>> I also stumbled across an interesting website/organization that seems to be advocating for actual Christlike Christianity. I'll have to look it over more re: mission etc, but their videos are really good (at least in my opinion).<<

Fascinating. I've met a few rare actual followers of Jesus. I've seen churches with excellent welcoming signs. I found one church's brilliant job descriptions for volunteers that seem unusually apt. But most of the really good stuff I've spotted in other worlds, like Terramagne or my main SF universe.

Re: Thoughts

[see_also_friend]

>>Well, that's rare.<<

Catachresis by Nosferatank on A03; and here's the link. I think you'll like it too, though warning from canon-typical jerkishness from the Big Bad. https://archiveofourown.org/works/43679544/chapters/109837338

I've seen the concept before, but it usually isn't very good. I think the only other two I can think of:

1) a (short) Buffy X ATLA crossover, where Buffy gets dropped into the ATLA world, and it is mentioned that she has to pretend to be deaf until a fellow refugee teaches her how to speak the local language, but it isn't really discussed.

2) a Stargate ATLA crossover where there is a Language barrier until the Translator Microbes kick in at the end of the story. Demerit for the Translator Microbes fixit, but bonus for discussing an offscreen language with pronoun sets designed for two symbiotic species: I [species-A], [I-species-B], I [symbiont] [current], I [symbiont] [+ past], etc.

>>Fascinating.<<

Here's the featured videos from the website. I haven't seen all of them, but the ones I have seen are pretty good. Love Your Enemies was the one that caught my attention, but the AI Love and Refugee were good and a bit more positive in tone. https://hegetsus.com/en/featured-videos

>>I've met a few rare actual followers of Jesus.<<

...one day, I would like to see someone try to, like, feed the homeless or take down hostile architecture or whatever and defend it as freedom of religion.

Re: Thoughts

[see_also_friend]

>>Well, that's rare.<<

Wait, did you mean the linguistics plot or the "Oops, I have to undo a war crime" bit?

[Edit: Or both?]

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

I meant recognizing, admitting, and trying to fix a war crime.

Re: Thoughts

[see_also_friend]

Now that I think about it, most stories I see (even the RL ones) only seem to focus on a one or two parts of the process:

1) Business as usual
2) Something's maybe a bit funny here - I should ask about this
3) Definite problem, and I should do something, but I don't know what
4) Doing something (often at personal risk/sacrifice)
5) Aftermath, including the cost of doing right and re-odering one's life into a new configuration.

Usually, there's an apology in there somewhere too, though a practical apology of action-or-sacrifice may be substituted for a verbal one. (And in some cases, actions are better than words.)

I think Schindler's List may have done a full going-over of all the steps (though I never watched that movie.)

And I can think of only one other story (admittedly a very depressing one) I saw that does something similar in terms of going through all the steps. Though interestingly they ended up doing it multiple times, with different characters in the 'oppressor' group being out-of-synch with each other (and some not coming around at all).

Hmm, it does sound like the sort of story that needs telling more often.