New Crowdfunding Project: "HarpTwins need ElectroAcousticHarps"

The Harp Twins are crowdfunding new harps. (Remember, they need two of everything. Yikes.) At the concert we saw, they had acoustic pedal harps, and electic lever harps. Now they're saving for electroacoustic pedal harps, which will have special effects pedals along with the usual ones for changing the pitch. Pay close attention to the status: $13,615 of $6,000 goal.  $6000 was the amount they were short of the downpayment for having the harps made, after saving money on their own.  The overage all goes toward the monthly payments, which are also large.  So the more, the merrier.  If you've got a few bucks to spare, chip in and let there be more harping!

I have to say, my farmemory makes this all the more squeeworthy.  Concert harps were exciting enough -- the classic harps could only be repitched with a tuning key.  Special effects pedals?  My historic and futuristic aspects are both geeking out at the same time, and that almost never happens.  :D

Poem: "Black Mollies"

This poem is spillover from the December 6, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from alatefeline. It also fills the "Black Mollies" square in my 12-1-16 card for the iPod Shuffle Music Fest Bingo. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

WARNING: This poem contains intense material that some readers may find unsettling. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. Shiv gets saddled with babysitting a toddler, which he is not prepared for and finds triggering. He actually can function while flashbacking, but it is not fun. The poem includes unwilling childcare duty, painfully inept attempts at babysitting, poor self-image, extreme anxiety causing significant physical symptoms, panic attacks, difficulty thinking, general freaking out, desperate begging for help from Dr. G, a lot of foul language only some of which is self-censored partway through, Shiv has no idea how to take care of a toddler, but he gets most of it surprisingly okay and there is no permanent damage, Shiv has utterly no grasp of how real sharing is supposed to work, boundary issues so many boundary issues, also some safety issues, lots of hints about Shiv's utterly horrible past, resistance to talking about anything remotely connected with sex, Shiv is terrified that he'll wind up abusing kids if he is around any, anxiety over making mistakes, abandonment issues, extreme potty panic due to Shiv's past sexual and other abuse, self-bullying, jealousy, age-switching, craft challenges, my supervillain has a pretty princess bathroom, half-sane half-scrambled gender issues, reference to outside teasing, inability to sit still, running on the stairs, Shiv's taste in cartoons is not entirely child-safe, children's songs are incredibly violent if you really listen to the lyrics, Buttons isn't sure whether to be grateful for the babysitting or pissed at Shiv's methods so she does both, which drives Shiv up a wall, clinginess, avoidance, clueless Shiv is clueless, aftermath anxiety, and other stress. This poem is likely to be uncomfortable for abuse survivors and possibly also parents. There is actually a lot of fluff, though, and aside from being a completely nerve-wracking experience for Shiv, it goes well enough that Jaxon likes him. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before deciding whether this is something you want to read. It's a point in Shiv's process of coping with his abusive past, so it's plot-relevant, but shouldn't leave an unavoidably huge hole in the main storyline if you skip it.

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Friday Yardening

Today I refilled the birdfeeders. Then I mulched around the contorta willow and started putting mulch around the big maple near the house.

I have miniature Dutch iris blooming now, along with snowdrops and a few more forsythia blossoms. :D

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Spell Against Drumpf

For those of you wishing that #45 would go away ...

"Anyone do magic out there? I guess there's a spell being cast to bind Trump worldwide at midnight (EST) tonight. So if you have an orange candle, a tarot deck, and an "unflattering photo of Trump (small)" you can join in. :-D There are instructions in this news article as well as unflattering photo of Trump (small)."