High-level stats for week of 2019-04-16 - 2019-04-22
Total works categorized F/F on AO3: 4068 (+269 from last week)
Works I classified F/F: 2581 (+234 from last week) (1271 new, 1310 continued)
1.01% of all 255740 AO3 works I've classified F/F were updated this week
A few callouts this week:
Well, that's exciting. Supergirl is out of the top spot this week, for the first time since 20180924 (it was overtaken by MCU then too). MCU just seems to have twice as many works this week as it did last week, with no particular pattern: 35 ships appear in works this week and not last week, but 25 ships appeared in works last week and don't appear this week (i.e. ship turnover in MCU is probably high most weeks). The biggest gains are in Wanda/Natasha, Peggy/Angie, Carol/Maria, and Maria Hill/Natasha... but those ships were big last week too, it's not like they appeared out of nowhere. If I had to attribute the entire change to one character, it would be Natasha, but really I think this is all just Endgame madness.
Speaking of madness, I don't watch GOT and only read in it very sporadically, but I gather Sunday is Canon Divergence Day for everyone's pet theories, so I thought in advance of that I'd rec an Arya/Daenerys season 8 fic that sounds like a good plot to me.
The Blackmagic eGPU Pro for Macs. [credit:
Samuel Axon ]
There are many criticisms of Apple's Mac products, but one of the most commonly cited is that they often don't have graphics power that's comparable to what you'd see in similarly priced Windows machines. Unfortunately, the company currently offers no desktop tower in which you could, say, slot two super-powerful gaming graphics cards, either.
Some of that could change soon when Apple moves to its own silicon on Macs or when it introduces a new Mac Pro. But for now, the company's official answer to this line of criticism is doubling down on external GPU support in macOS. Support for this began during the High Sierra cycle and was expanded upon in some helpful ways in last year's Mojave OS release.
In addition to providing software support for eGPUs, Apple has developed what is more or less its official-ish eGPU solution, in much the same that a couple of LG's monitors have been Apple's recommended external displays for a while now. The company did so by partnering with hardware-maker Blackmagic Design, an Australia-based company that specializes in products for video professionals. The first eGPU from Blackmagic included an AMD Radeon Pro 580 and was priced at $699. We reviewed it late last summer and found that—while it was quiet and easy-to-use, and the GPU was a big upgrade over the integrated graphics in many Macs—we wished a higher-end GPU option was offered for creative professionals and hardcore gamers who needed more.
Air temperature 42 F, wind south 8 mph, overcast. Rain expected, 1" to 2", with more river and stream flooding. May turn to snow or mix back in the hills . . .
The land is very low down on Aqua Vitae road, where they have the ancient narrow fields. Give the Connecticut River a chance, and it will flood them, and the road will close, as it has the past week. I went and took pictures, and nudged by a friend, I wrote a poem.
road closed
come to me, river come you have covered the fields wrapped yourself around standing trees crept up this old road come closer here I stand, like a tree wrap around me press your body against mine let us be heart to heart, cheek to cheek come! take my breath away
As you lay dying you gasped "help me." How terrifying to let your lungs stop breathing to trust that you would continue even after your body had ceased. To step into waves that crested so high and know the waters would part. To feel deep in weary bones that from narrow straits expansiveness beckoned, that redemption was waiting on the far shore.
Today is the seventh day of Pesach, the day on which tradition says we crossed the sea into freedom.
Enlarge/ The Electron launch vehicle is ready to soar. (credit: Rocket Lab)
Welcome to Edition 1.46 of the Rocket Report! As always, we've got news from around the world of launch this week. Start-ups in Japan and China have made news this week, and Russia may soon decommission the most historical launchpad in the world. There's also plenty of news from the world of heavy lift.
As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.
Interstellar Technologies to make third launch attempt. In an email, the Japanese new space company said it would attempt to launch the MOMO-3 rocket on April 30 from its launchpad in Taiki, Hokkaido. The launch is set for 2:15am UTC, and the company said a live stream would be available.
Seeing Red has a release date! And a cover, and a blurb 🙂
As per usual, while I’ve dropped off the internet I’ve been paddling madly under the surface. I’ve finished edits on Seeing Red. I’ve changed the cover art to make sure both main characters were included. I’ve written the blurb. I’ve formatted the paperback and that is going through Amazon’s checks as we speak. I’m busy attempting to arrange some publicity for it.
I will be releasing it on May 15th 2019 – ie next month
BLURB: Bad boys don’t tame easy.
Victor is a bad man. Is there anything he won’t do for power and money?
Destroy a local business so he can buy it cheap? Kick out its owners and turn it into a cash cow? He relishes the chance.
Idris is a good man in possession of a renowned tea-house. He’s put his heart and soul into the place. It’s everything he has and wants…
Except for Victor.
He wants Victor too.
Can the love of a compassionate man restore a predator’s withered soul? Or is Idris doomed to lose his life’s work, and his heart with it?
~
A contemporary mm romance, Seeing Red is a long-awaited new installment of the critically acclaimed Trowchester Series.
Each book in the series is a standalone, and can be read in any order.
Afro Puffs - The Lady Of Rage Anaconda - Nicki Minaj Bad Girls - M.I.A. Bad Reputation - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole - Martha Wainwright Boss Ass Bitch - Ptaf Ch Ching - Lady Sovereign Cruel - Tori Amos Cut A Man's Heart Out (Angel Mix) - Arlene Bishop Destroy Everything You Touch - Unwoman Evil Gal Blues - Aretha Franklin Evil Gal Blues - Dinah Washington Fuck You - Lily Allen Hard Out Here - Lily Allen Hot Dog, That Made Him Mad -Wanda Jackson I Am Woman (Helen Reddy cover) - Martha Wainwright I Put a Spell On You - Nina Simone I Told You I Was Mean - Elle King I'm In The Band - Bratmobile Invincible - Pat Benatar Love Me or Hate Me - Lady Sovereign NO - Meghan Trainor Not A Pretty Girl - Ani DiFranco Rebel Girl - Bikini Kill Something I Am Not - Amere Meander Toxic - Britney Spears Trouble Is My Name - Dum Dum Girls Unorthodox Chick - Nolay Werkin' Girls - Angel Haze Woman (feat. The Dap-Kings Horns) - Kesha
"You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: what is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know."
Waaaayyy back in time in the late 20th Century, four creatives lurked about the wild frontier of the internet, pursuing their disparate interests, unknowingly united by a common passion. The internet was undiscovered country in that time, fertile ground for those with the right ingredients to plow, till and toil. This passion – a love of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien – brought together in an unlikely alliance a visionary, a musician, a server lord and a coder from three nations and two continents who would make history and launch the greatest gathering, collection and expression of Tolkien fandom as yet seen on this Earth.
Mike, Chris, Bill and Erica – Xoannon, Calisuri, Corvar and Tehanu – had little inkling of the crop they would harvest within the matter of even one year. As these creatives teamed together on a simple chatroom platform called mIRC to build and grow the site, others joined the scene to talk Tolkien: the books, the art, the music, the maps, the worlds and ages and fables and histories and tales of Middle Earth… and yes, THE MOVIES! We were so in love with the concept that AT LAST, technology had evolved enough and the right creative brains and funding was behind what it was going to take to make a decent- maybe even GREAT – Lord of the Rings film. One? Two? Three? Who knew? What we did know was that it was going to be amazing, that we were going to keep a very close eye on things, that we represented and gave voice to a fandom that took Tolkien’s work seriously, and that we wanted to make sure that Mr. Jackson, 3 Foot 6, WETA and New Line Studios created something that would honor the memory and great works of Professor Tolkien. We wanted to be a place where fans could be updated about the films and go much deeper, joining in fellowship with like-minded thinkers who felt a deep love for the work of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Something special grew then, beyond the nooks and crannies of the website that were growing in leaps and bounds.
There, in this unlikely place that didn’t actually exist beyond ONE rickety server in a clandestine location near the East Coast – a place Tolkien himself would not have dreamed of – a following of friends grew, whose love of his works translated seamlessly into a love of TheOneRing.net. The Founders wisely harnessed this energy and marshalled the expertise of generations of Tolkien fans who were able (thanks to the new access provided by the world wide web) to create a community which continues to thrive today.
Endless hours have gone into the building and maintenance of TheOneRing.net website and community by a small army of volunteers. We are so very grateful for the contributions that each and every one of you have made to our existence and success over the years. You have been a part of something important, something valuable, that has enriched the lives of so very many, and our gratitude for you is deep and wide. For the many of you who have slogged away behind the screens coding/writing/editing/publishing, engaged with bigwigs in the Real World, worked yourself to exhaustion repping for us at conventions or throwing Hollywood parties, hosted moots, picnics, and hundreds of local events (including those Line Parties!), flew half way around the world to (yes!) adventure but also connect and represent, moderated Barliman’s and her many neighbors, managed the message boards, submitted original works of art/writing/music/film/etc., and given any of your time, talent and treasure to TORn, we say THANK YOU!
We are also deeply grateful for the vision of Peter Jackson, whose decision to make TORn a friend instead of foe eased our efforts and established the framework for a partnership which remains true today. To our buddies at WETA – we love you! Thank you Richard Taylor and Tania Rodgers! Our thanks to Sideshow and Badali Jewelry, creative partners we’ve cherished along the way. We’re so very grateful to the writers, producers, cast and crew of the LOTR and Hobbit films for your work and also your friendships over the years. For those in the industry (that includes you Peter) who supported us (and strategically) came alongside, our gratitude goes out to you as well. Thank you for joining us to celebrate Professor Tolkien’s creative genius!
TheOneRing.net exists as a community today because we are bonded through the same passion that brought her founders and early laborers together twenty years ago. Thank you, Professor Tolkien, for creating a story, an idea and an ideal that has inspired and enriched our lives. We are grateful to you, your publishers, the Tolkien Estate and members of your family who have celebrated with us in person and in spirit.
Finally, our deepest gratitude goes out to YOU, dear reader. For 20 years, you’ve faithfully visited our front page for news, dialogued on our message boards, lived in our chatrooms, and provided us rich, meaty content to post. For 20 years you’ve attended our events, donated funds to maintain the site, and purchased a dragon’s hoard of TORn merch. For 20 years, you’ve created and maintained a community that was beyond anything imagined in its early days. We appreciate you! May your mug and pipe always be full!
With deep gratitude and appreciation on behalf of The Founders and Staff of TheOneRing.net,
*Tookish bows low*
2nd Age Staffers
TheOneRing.net: Forged By and For Fans of JRR Tolkien
Earlier this month, the digital preservationists at The Dumping Union made an important announcement in the world of arcade game emulation. The collective had gotten its hands on a ROM image of Akka Arrh, an extremely rare Atari arcade prototype and one of the most prominent remaining cabinets that had, to that point, never been available through emulation.
That alone would have been notable news in the world of gaming history—the Dumping Union suggested as much by titling their forum announcement "Sit down on the toilet before reading this or else you will shit your pants." But the story might require another round of toilet sitting, because what started as a rare-game reveal has turned into a credible "heist" tale, perpetrated by an alleged MAME vigilante, no less.
A bit of history
The story of Akka Arrh (also known as Target Outpost during development) dates back to 1982, when the game was created by Atari's Dave Ralston and Mike Hally, who would go on to work on plenty of well-rememberedarcade games for the company (the title is supposedly a mangled initialism for "Also Known As Another Ralston Hally"). After a small test-market release in 1982, Akka Arrh's rotational take on Missile Command's trackball targeting was reportedly deemed too complicated for the masses at the time. So even though Akka Arrh was practically complete and had its own unique cabinet art and design, wide release was scrapped in favor of more promising Atari titles.
When TheOneRing.net marked its 10th anniversary in 2009, we celebrated in style. We had such a good time, we decided to celebrate every year on April 26, the date when TORn was established.
Black Pine: Tolkien’s favourite tree
To us, however, this is more than an Anniversary. Inspired by TORn Discussion Board member weaver, April 26 has evolved into Founders Day. It’s become TheOneRing.net’s official holiday to celebrate our four Founders and is our time to say thanks to them and the people (all volunteers) who keep this place going. It’s a great day to find shade under our FD Treeand reminisce, tell war stories, or reflect on all the adventures and friendships that have been forged over the years. If you watch closely, you’ll see that every year a new leaf sprouts with its own unique look. [Here’s more about our FD Party Tree]
Come to our Discussion Boards where the day and several days after are filled with the best that a virtual party can offer. It doesn’t end until it stops! No one can ever be too late, so you can arrive precisely when you mean to.
Everyone is invited to join in — so don’t be shy! Look for special party threads clearly identified in the subject line on our message board posts (mostly found on Main, Off Topic and Reading Room). Hunt around, find a party game you like, or a conversation you enjoy, and dive in! You can even order a virtual drink at Fiesta Friday. Plus Barliman’s chat and our facebook page are always open and welcome both old friends and new visitors… so why not drop in and say Hi!?
A list of this year’s games can SOON be found right here… as we gather them all together. In the meanwhile, have fun with last year’s games here.
Here’s to our Founders: Corvar, Xoanon, Tehanu, Calisuri!
Happy 20th TORniversary, TheOneRing.net!!
As part of our celebration, every year we reprise posting the TORn “Valaquenta” shown here. The “Valaquenta“ was written by member Alassëa Eruvende and set most beautifully to paper by our dear friend Daniel Reeve, calligrapher and artist for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. Enjoy!
On April 26, 2009, TheOneRing.net marked its 10th anniversary with a huge celebration. It was quickly agreed that the TORn-born Founders Day holiday would be an annual event. The Discussion Board members wanted a proper logo to mark each year; so being fans of J.R.R. Tolkien, we decided a Party Tree would be perfect! Discussion Board member Ainu Laire gave us this lovely elvish design to build upon. Every year, a unique leaf has been added to mark each TORniversary. So, beginning with our 11th Founders Day/Anniversary/TORniversary (also like Tolkien… there are several names applied ;), we planted our Founders Day Party tree with a leaf for our 10th and 11th TORniversaries (2009 & 2010). We have just added our 20th Anniversary Leaf (2019), which is actually Pine with a very special meaning. Please see below for the description of each year’s leaf.
There really hasn’t been a formula for deciding which type of leaf should be added; but it was agreed that avoiding the same kind year-after-year would make the leafy symbol for each year as unique as the events surrounding it. So you’ll see a new leaf sprout every Founders Day to help our Party Tree grow fuller and stronger… just like the TORn Community which has grown in its shade.
Here’s a glimpse of the leaves added since the beginning and a bit of the Trends and Threads going on within the Discussion Boards each year.
10th TORniversary Leaf (2009) Elven – April is always launched with an “April’s Fool” homepage prank by tptb. This year found the Discussion Board members’ nicknames suddenly converted to Harry Potter monikers. The Board Discussion was also fascinated with Susan Boyle.
11th TORniversary Leaf (2010) Shumard Oak – It’s been 7 years since the release of RotK, and we were panting for information on the filming of The Hobbit! Would it happen or not!? But it was tempered for a spell at the announcement of Peter Jackson’s Knighthood!
12th TORniversary Leaf (2011) Sugar Maple – A preview for an upcoming HBO show starring Sean Bean had posters filled with anticipation… something called A Game of Thrones. More importantly, TORn’s community was brought together with the destructive earthquake(s) of Christchurch. Many members of the Boards live in or near the area overwhelmed by the devastating quakes. This year’s Founders Day Party included an incredible video made by Discussion Board poster One_Ringer of TORnsib’s pictures attending LotR-related conventions, moots, etc.
13th TORniversary Leaf (2012) Alder – Long-time poster and creator One_Ringer, who gave us a video of TORnsib pictures at conventions, moots, etc., offered his thoughts about TORn, which sums up how many posters feel about their online community. The reviews and reactions to the first installment of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey are still coming in; but the anticipation of Smaug in The Desolation of Smaug has really captured our imagination!
14th TORniversary Leaf (2013) Oak & Acorn – Many long-anticipated movies /videos were getting TORn members very excited, but none more than the fan-made work called Born of Hope. Posters were very busy discussing the 1st Hobbit installment, An Unexpected Journey and longer-anticipated part 2, The Desolation of Smaug.
15th TORniversary Leaf (2014) Rhododendron – This year’s Founder Day included another TORn first, Tolkienia Times; a local online newspaper created by local sibbies. And there’s one thing TORnsibs do very well…a pants thread. Although, a good pun thread will do the trick.
16th TORniversary Leaf (2015) Shamrock – Every once in a while, a thread will take on a life of its own. This was the case for a run-away Name that word game that eventually had to be locked (replies no long possible) because it grew so much, but it’s still great fun to read. This Founders Day season also gave us another issue of Tolkienia Times!
18th TORniversary Leaf (2017) Silver Fern, national symbol of New Zealand, a.k.a., Middle-earth – The love of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books is still very popular and finds its way to magazine special editions. And a year later, we’re still talking about The Silmarillion being made into films. We never give up… never surrender!
19th TORniversary Leaf (2018) Kauri Pine – In 2004, TORn Discussion Board members participated in raising money in conjunction with Wellington’s Commemorative Tree Programme to honour LotR, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Peter Jackson. Eleven kauri trees were planted in Willowbank Park in Tawa, NZ. Nine trees for the ‘Fellowship of the cast and crew’ of the films, and one each for Peter Jackson and Professor Tolkien (while also honouring the 2004 11-Oscar sweep of The Return of the King). 2018’s big news was the announcement of a Middle-earth TV series. A new Middle-earth TV Series Discussion board was created for TORnadoes to share information and reactions to this incredible development.
20th TORniversary Leaf (2019) Black Pine (Pinus Nigra) – It is told that J.R.R. Tolkien’s favourite tree was found in the Oxford Botanical Garden where it was believed to be planted circa 1799; 220 years ago this year. Tolkien he enjoyed being photographed resting under the tree by his grandson, Michael, on August 9, 1973… less than a month before Tolkien passed away on September 2nd. For more on the story of this magnificent tree, please click here. During this past year, there’s been a lot of excitement this past year with the development of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Original Series. The anticipation grows with every clue being leaked to TORn, like this beautiful Map of Middle-earth! Stay tuned as more tidbits are revealed and the project slowly develops… at least it feels slow!
Freelance character designer Terumi Nishii is a talent artist (see above) and has an impressive list of anime credits. She’s worked on Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable, among others. She has lots experience and some frank advice.
Following the revelation that Facebook "unintentionally" scraped and uploaded 1.5 million users' email contacts, the New York attorney general's office has announced that it is opening an investigation into the social media giant. Attorney general Letitia James said that it is "time Facebook is held accountable for how it handles consumers' personal information". See also: How to delete the contacts that Facebook may have scraped from you Privacy: Facebook 'unintentionally' scraped and uploaded 1.5 million users' email contacts Facebook: er, actually it was millions of Instagram passwords we stored in plain text, not thousands James says that "Facebook has repeatedly… [Continue Reading]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
letzan
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
11th TORniversary Leaf
12th TORniversary Leaf (
13th TORniversary Leaf
14th TORniversary Leaf
