'ere we wander here

Snowflake #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page

instructions unclear ... so have some podcats! No links, look them up on your pod-catcher of choice. Or don't, it's entirely up to you.

99% Invisible - general nerdery. In theory, this is an architecture podcast, but it's so much more than that. Started off on the actual radio with episodes starting at ~5min and slowly getting longer over time as they moved firmly into Podcast full time. I'm still working my way through the archive, but worth the deep dive.

Rachel Maddow Presents - political history and commentary. I highly recommend all of them, but her latest, Burn Notice, feels especially important right now. It's US history we aren't taught but probably ought to be.

You Are Good - film commentary. I've fallen behind due to The Horrors. They've got an eclectic mix of films they've discussed from a "how we feel" perspective and it's always interesting, even if I'm not that familiar with the film in question.

American Hysteria - pop culture. Chelsey has sometimes fallen into the white leftist trap of talking out their ass, but they generally mean well and are trying to de-construct America's moral panics of past and present in good faith.

Astonishing Legends - paranormal/supernatural investigation. Pay attention to episode length before jumping in on this one - true episodes are usually around 1-1.5hours with some installments running as long as 4 hours and some stories being told over 3-4 parts. I've been listening to this one for over a year now and I'm still in the archives because of how long the episodes are. XD

Challenge #2: Pets of Fandom Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!

2025 stole my baby, Harley, and in the end, left us with just four foster fails, most of them special needs (and emotional scars and a resolve to not foster any longer):
* Expert Hider, aka Heidi, aka HooHoo. Tortie with very high anxiety (and a flea allergy). She's doing better with so few cats in the house, but she's still wound tighter than an eight day clock most of the time, even on meds.
* Habenero, aka Moonpie, aka Sheldon. Very Orange - we love him, but he's dumb as a brick
* Manicotti, aka Cooter. Tuxie (Burnt Orange) with cataract.
* Sandy Claws. Dilute Tuxie with dwarfism.

Other than Heidi, the cats are much more attuned to my wife. Heidi has decided I am Her Human and she won't even go to breakfast/dinner if I don't carry her out to her bowl.

Been awhile since I made a progress report, oops. Of course work paused for the holiday, though it was nearly done by then, too. So of course then I got to spend the weekend being nervous that the pipes were going to freeze before we could get them wrapped. Contractors are scheduled to be back later today to wrap up this phase of repairs (finishing the bathroom floor and office ceiling, re-securing the current skirting). There's yet more work that needs doing, but for now we're focusing on finishing raising funds for this phase. We've nearly raised it all, but we're not quite there yet.

Venmo: venmo.com/u/haidoneko (wife's account)
PayPal: paypal.me/drm131419 (wife's account) or paypal.me/yuuana (my account)
KoFi: ko-fi.com/yuuana (my account)

Signal boosting deeply appreciated and if you've already helped, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Recovery is an ongoing process that we're having to take one small bite at a time, due to being two disabled women with limited access to physical help. Plus, the trash bin is already full (and collection isn't until Thursday morning), so I can only do so much clean up right now. We're in the middle of applying to FEMA, but like any other insurance program, the expectation is that will take time to process out. In the mean time, we have at least one through-and-through hole in the roof, plus additional damages to the roof, siding, underpinning, and the back door no longer closes completely, plus the loss of a whole fridge + second freezer worth of food.

If you wish to help, we are gratefully accepting donations via the following:
Venmo: venmo.com/u/haidoneko (wife's account)
PayPal: paypal.me/drm131419 (wife's account) or paypal.me/yuuana (my account)
Email for gift cards: haidoneko@gmail.com (wife's account)

We also have a couple Amazon wishlists set up so we can be better prepared for the next disaster.
Emergency: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3CX78C11V0ESP
Cat Rescue: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/7EMQQ4ZKBXFX
Health & Wellness: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/30Z3YJ8Y2FIW0

note: wishlists are set to allow inclusion of items not on the list
note2: if you're not comfortable with Amazon (and that's totally okay!) but still want to send a care package instead of money, I can provide our shipping address for personal contacts and/or we're willing to set a wishlist on an alternate site

TIA and blessings!

Hokay, we're going to try this again, but the weather here is murdering my functionality, so bear with me, yeah? Requests are open from now until 11:59pm EDT Friday, July 12th. If you'd like to claim a slot now and fill in details later, there's a non-zero chance I won't actually get to them until the weekend as it is, so that's fine. Tips will either be spent on the kittens or my mental health needs or both. ;)

Free readings are two cards (three if you signal boost, please link me to your boost so I don't miss it). Focus/direction or basic questions optional; if you don't pick a focus, it'll just be a general reading. Default deck this month: Osho Zen
All comments are screened for privacy and readings are done as I can around my other schedules.

Decks available this month: The Alleyman Tarot, Osho Zen, The Black Tarot, Legend, The Arthurian Tarot, and the Manga Tarot.

Want more? I also have a couple spreads listed in my KoFi Shop if you're interested! If you're looking for a specific spread not listed, message me and I'll get it up as soon as I can. Plus Ko-Fi membership tiers include Tarot readings!

Deck notes:
The Black Tarot is incredibly in-your-face blunt and pulls no punches. It also seems to attract Trickster attention.
The Osho Zen draws from Buddhist philosophy and speaks with a very different voice from "standard" decks.
The Alleyman Tarot reserves the right to slap you with a bonus card for any damn reason it likes.

Tip Jar: Ko-fi | Paypal
** tipping is absolutely not obligated, jar is there for those who feel the urge, but all tips greatly appreciated! **
for legal reasons, Paypal uses my deadname, plz don't abuse this knowledge.
Disclaimer: readings are for entertainment and should not take the place of qualified professional advice in any matters

You may have noticed some Mondays missing. That is because May was a raging shitshow and honestly I'm still trying to recover from last week, but I also fully intend to go back and fill in all the missing Music May posts over the course of however long that takes.

note: I'll probably also be moving these entries to abuelaskpop after this week. Assuming I survive the week, which ... may be asking too much the way the cats keep trying to kill me.

Song: WORK
Artist: ATEEZ
Release: May 2024
Genre: Kpop
cw: surrealism

[set CC to English for official lyrics translation]

The thing with ATEEZ is, even with this being their tenth EP, they are still able to constantly surprise me with new sounds and styles. WORK is both something new and something that feels like a completely normal evolution of their sound. The solid thump of the drum and bass that makes you want to bounce along, the Latin flavor in the instrumentals, especially the pre-chorus with it's tempo shift, and then that almost Gershwin-y, jazzy clarinet track. Making a focus playlist around WORK made it more obvious both how well it fits in with a lot of their existing discography (Crazy Form, Arriba, and Cyberpunk all came to mind quickly, but in the end the bigger problem was trying to keep the playlist in the sweet spot on length) and how unlike the current BG trends the whole EP is. Which didn't stop me from building a playlist of 85 entries, but it did take awhile and I'll probably keep fiddling with it.

As for the video ... well that's a wild ride all right. I've filed this as a lore MV for now, but it might be stretching things a bit. It wouldn't be the first time we've had an MV in a dreamscape (Illusion anyone?), and between Seonghwa riding an ostrich and Yeosang cuddling a chicken, to say nothing of the money burgers or Money Man, this is a fairly solidly unreal/surreal setting. Meaning if this is lore, it's going to take further releases/stages to contextualize it and fit it into the story. If this is A 'verse dreaming again, well, it's a colorful dream world all right.

That said, between the lyrics themselves and comments from Hongjoong and Mingi, it's hard not to see the whole of Golden Hour Part 1 as being a bit meta - ATEEZ have been working more or less constantly from pre-debut and their usual response to being snubbed or other fandoms' attempts to drag them into stupid controversy has been to double down and work even harder. It's to the point now where every time the guys vow to "work harder to become the ATEEZ that is worthy of ATINY," I half want to reach through the internet, shake San's shoulders, and insist that no, they already are. Add on that Mingi called Siren a diss track (which, I either need a better translation or we need to talk about what he means by "diss track" XD) and an argument could definitely be made that this EP is comment on ATEEZ-the-boyband rather than ATEEZ-our-pirate-heroes.

GOLDEN HOUR Part 1 just released last Friday, positioning it poorly for its first charting week, but it is what it is. It's available now wherever you do your Kpop streaming as well as for physical sale online and in select stores. And by "select" I mean both box stores like Walmart and, if you're lucky enough to have such, local pop ups and Kpop shops.


Want to see Music Monday deep dives more often? Sponsor a song selection! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. With sponsors, I can stop skipping weeks and falling further and further behind in the releases! Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature!
But seriously, if you've been enjoying my selections and analyses, we (me and the foster kittens) would love a KoFi in thanks.
DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[this post has been backfilled due to time constraints]
Not sure what it says about me that this is going to be my first time writing up an IU song since I started doing artist tags. Well, all right, most of my Kpop listening is spent on boy groups, so that's probably part of it. That and my very spotty schedule. ;) At least I picked a fun one for my starting point?

Song: Holssi
Artist: IU
Release: February 2024
genre: Kpop
cw: flashing, lens flares, surrealism



Holssi (dandelion seed) is an ethereal dance-pop-ballad of a bop - the bass is thumping at only about 60bpm, perfect for wiggling right into your veins, but on the slow side for dance pop. Between that and the way most of the song is in IU's falsetto range and sung with an airy tone throughout, you end up with a rather dreamy song about escaping the mundane.

The video is a playful romp, shot in probably Los Angeles, definitely California, with local dance crews. Including some wonderfully talented kids who look like they're having a blast. And to be honest, if I was being allowed to play hide and seek with IU and do wire work, I'd probably be having a blast, too. The surrealism looks like a combination of practical and post effects - some of the time it's computer power that turns the dancers into noodley forms, but one of the shots with the kids looks like they also used balloons to get the desired shapes.

Holssi is one of three title tracks off IU's sixth album, The Winning, which is available now wherever you stream or purchase Kpop. She's taking a bit of rest at the moment before resuming her world tour at the end of June with dates in the UK and Germany and then coming to the US in July.


Want to sponsor a song selection? You sweet angel! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature!
DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

[this post has been backfilled due to time constraints]



Music May is my chance to whip out a whole bunch of song reviews in the ultimately futile attempt to get something like caught up. Throwback Thursday will therefore remain paused so I can keep going through recent and recentish releases, including non-Korean music (though not today)! I know, I know, you're shocked.... XD

Song: Emptiness
Artist: BoA
Release: March 2024
Genre: Kpop
cw: flashing, spider under glass



Okay, so here's the thing. I love BoA. I've loved BoA for twenty years. So when I say I hate her, understand that it's only because it's been twenty years and if anything, she looks younger than she did ten years ago and that's just rude. For her most recent comeback, BoA delivers another emotional track that's also a dance bop with an earworm of a chorus. It's such a Kpop cliche to make a song about losing love into such an uptempo song, although since she's the one telling off a feckless lover, it's probably appropriate.

The video alternates between dance stage and narrative scenes, though most of those scenes have a certain feel of unreality to them, especially when BoA's chorus is there witnessing with her. Four men in plain white tees, in contrast to her darker looks for those scenes, and though they don't say anything, their presence still says something. The repeated references to lies, the broken glass, the candles blown out ... the lyrics set a story of a man walking out when things got hard, but some of the visuals in the video could point to a character death, it's all in how you look at it. And one could probably argue both ways whether BoA's happier at the end than in the beginning.

Emptiness (and a whole lot more) is available for streaming at all the usual suspects. BoA's been Kpop queen since the start of the first Hallyu wave, so that's more than twenty years of music to explore, if you're feeling inclined.


Want to sponsor a song selection? You sweet angel! For the low, low price of one (1) KoFi, I'll write up the song of your choice. ANY song of your choice. Yes, even that one that's been played to death. Yes, your obscure faves too. Sponsor a current CB for the next open Music Monday slot or sponsor a throwback for a Thursday feature!
DW | Twitter | Mastodon | Bluesky | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch

Holy cow, it's already time for another Tarot Tuesday?! Honestly, I meant to get this up earlier in the day, but then kittens happened. But it's here now! Reading slots are up for grabs from now until 11:59 PM ET, Friday, April 12th. Tips would be especially deeply appreciated these days!

Free readings are two cards (three if you signal boost, please link me to your boost so I don't miss it). Focus/direction or basic questions optional; if you don't pick a focus, it'll just be a general reading. Default deck this month: The Alleyman Tarot
All comments are screened for privacy and readings are done as I can around my other schedules.

Decks available this month: The Alleyman Tarot, Osho Zen, The Black Tarot, Legend, The Arthurian Tarot, and the Manga Tarot.

Want more? I also have a couple spreads listed in my KoFi Shop if you're interested! If you're looking for a specific spread not listed, message me and I'll get it up as soon as I can. Plus Ko-Fi membership tiers include Tarot readings!

Deck notes:
The Black Tarot is incredibly in-your-face blunt and pulls no punches. It also seems to attract Trickster attention.
The Osho Zen draws from Buddhist philosophy and speaks with a very different voice from "standard" decks.
The Alleyman Tarot reserves the right to slap you with a bonus card for any damn reason it likes.

Tip Jar: Ko-fi | Paypal
** tipping is absolutely not obligated, jar is there for those who feel the urge, but all tips greatly appreciated! **
for legal reasons, Paypal uses my deadname, plz don't abuse this knowledge.
Disclaimer: readings are for entertainment and should not take the place of qualified professional advice in any matters