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post_secret_feed) wrote2026-01-11 12:03 amKathy Easter Egg
There are Easter Eggs hidden in the PostSecret Digital Museum of Secrets. One of them is a long article from PostSecret’s original mailcarrier – Kathy. If you have not discovered it already, go here and click on the mailbox. You can read Kathy’s story, and her secret. Here is the beginning. . .
As a mail carrier, I got used to seeing unusual things come through the mail. I have delivered ashes of deceased pets and humans to teary-eyed customers, tons of certified letters sent by bill collectors to equally teary-eyed customers, valuables in registered mail, live baby chicks, ducklings, worms, crickets, car tires and wheels, steamer trunks, and even packages that are broken and oozing with unknown materials. I have even been known to pick up a dog or two on my route, who had broken out of their yards and returned them to their owners. You’d think I’d be immune to odd things. But nothing prepared me for PostSecret!
In 2004, a customer of mine, Frank Warren, began receiving a few post cards in his daily mail. They were preprinted with his address and looked like a card that a dentist office would send reminding you of an upcoming appointment. It was just something I subconsciously noticed. There were only a few every day, and they all looked the same. I never turned them over to look on the other side. So, for a while I didn’t pay much attention. We deal with thousands upon thousands of letters during our mornings of casing our mail and don’t look to see who a letter is from or what it is. One day that all changed for me.
While handling one of Frank’s post cards, one fell out of my hands and landed upside down on the floor. I gasped when I read in huge bold letters, I LIKE TO HAVE SEX WITH STRANGERS. You can imagine my shock. That’s all it said. It had bold, bright coloring as a background. I’ll never forget it. I immediately showed some of my friends what I had found in the mail. One guy was so shocked he said, “Did a girl write it?” I was like, “how the heck do I know, who cares?” I then turned it over and looked on the address side of the card. I read the preprinted instructions next to Frank’s address. It invited you to participate in a group art project by writing a secret (that no one else knows) on the other side of this postcard and mail it anonymously to the printed address. I don’t have to tell you that I pulled the few postcards that were in his address slot that day and began reading them immediately! From that day forward, me, (and a few friends at work), began reading all the cards daily. I still didn’t really know what was going on, but I was intrigued. . . (continue)
Dear Kathy – I sent in a secret saying that I was going to kill myself in the next couple of days after writing it. Then a day or 2 after mailing it, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that a mail carrier would read my postcard and not want me to die, even though they didn’t know me.
Maybe it was you – after reading your post I can see that you’re a special person. So thank you – I’m working things out.
The post Kathy Easter Egg appeared first on PostSecret.
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swingandswirl) wrote2026-01-07 07:24 pmNever underestimate the power of spite, y'all.
I resisted, partly because it felt a little too close to RPF for me to feel comfortable (I know posh British men have like five acceptable names but still) and partly because... well, I'm not a fan of the British monarchy, even a fictional version, for very obvious child-of-colonialism reasons.
And then this morning my buddy complained, once again, about the idiot sheltered Tamil Brahmin boy in the RWRB discord's latest terrible take, which was that India does not have racism. (As someone who remembers seeing a front-page ad in the newspaper of record offering a free whitening cream with purchase of soap that had the tagline 'We're sending some compliments your way', AHAHAHAHA.)
So I made a half-joking comment about that I should finally read RWRB so I could join the discord and back her up next time the idiot idioted. And lo and behold, I had a free afternoon and an available copy of the book, so... why the hell not?
And y'all, I feel like such a damn idiot. Because this book, once I let go of my grudge about the names? Was actually really good. The writing is top-notch, the characters are complex while still being fun, and the story balances escapism and realism really well, especially when it comes to the depiction of the monarchy. It's even making me want to see the movie, which is not a thing I say often.
So yeah. Five out of five stars to Casey McQuiston's Red White and Royal Blue, and a reminder to not judge books by their covers, lol.
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fandom_icons2026-01-10 11:21 pmSkyMed icons
tvmovie20in20 Round 22 with SkyMed (all three seasons).Preview:
At 20,000 feet, the stakes can't get any higher.....
torachan) wrote2026-01-10 08:15 pmDaily Happiness
2. We had a nice morning at Disneyland. They've got a bunch of new menu items that started earlier this week and everything we tried was delicious. And we brought home a chocolate caramel apple to have for dessert, which we haven't done in a while.
3. Tuxie's new favorite spot is under the grill.
redbird) wrote2026-01-10 10:53 pmanti-ICE demonstration this afternoon
It was a good-sized crowd, but the acoustics and sound system were abysmal; I could only make out a few scraps of what the speakers were saying.
I wore a winter coat, wool socks, and light-weight long underwear, which was too warm while we were on the trolley.
china_shop) wrote2026-01-11 04:55 pmMe-and-media update
In the Comfort food poll, 55.6% of respondents said their preferred comfort food is chocolate, and 46.7% said savoury carbs. In ticky-boxes, 'juicy intricate poetry words' and 'pushing on through' came second equal (40% each) to hugs (80%). Thank you for your votes! <3
Reading
I listened to half an m/m romance audiobook that I selected for one of its readers (Will Watt), but the overuse of "fucking" as an intensifier (and in particular, the repeated phrase, "he was so fucking hot") kept making me roll my eyes. It might be a faithful reproduction of the inner monologue of a first-year uni student, but I don't read romances for verisimilitude. So I switched to The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, read by Carrie Hope Fletcher and Kwaku Fortune, seen mentioned on my flist. I'm halfway through and enjoying it immensely. ETA:
Warnings.
Contains past emotionally abusive relationship, stalking, and PTSD.A little more Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain in hardcopy. Nothing in ebook.
Kdramas
Andrew and I have nearly finished The Guest. I want to ship the OT3, but I don't really care about the priest. (Sorry, priest guy! Alas, you are not my type.) Still, it is a great (gory/horror-y) show, and I've conveniently forgotten some of the developments. We just have one episode to go.
A bit more of While You Were Sleeping, a few episodes of Cashero (I'm not sure I'm in the mood for established relationship, but otoh, Junho! ♥), and a marathon-running BL called Mr. Heart, which was sweet but extremely slight.
Where is the next Love Scout/Family by Choice/whatever??
Other TV
Finished Stranger Things, which got so complex that I lazily stopped following the logic and just watched it as a collection of scenes. But I enjoyed those well enough. So glad they got their victory lap.
Three episodes of Heated Rivalry.
Minor spoilers; tl;dr not my thing.
Wow, I'd heard it was fanficcy, but I wasn't prepared for the total absence of anything resembling an external plot. Like, not even a figleaf. Not even a hockey arc. How??Anyway, my prediction that it's probably not for me has proven correct. Like, I can tell that the show is made of crack (in the addictive sense), but I'm not into super-buff dudes, and I didn't like the 'fucking but feeling kind of miserable about it' vibe I was getting from Hollander. He deserves better.
But I kept going for episode 3, and I'm really glad I did. There was the
So that (predictably) is me. And I'm actually kind of relieved, because while the show is compelling and well-acted, it's not what I want in a fandom, and anyway, I'm hardly even managing to keep up with my quiet corner of Guardian fandom atm.
Audio entertainment
Writing Excuses, Cross Party Lines, Letters from an American, more of Our Opinions Are Correct (Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz's podcast) including the Murderbot episode, Tech Won't Save Us, the starts of a few other things.
Writing/making things
I've been practising drawing, and picking up art supplies in bits and pieces. The moldable eraser is magic.
Have a couple of sketches.
(Imperfect, but I think it's identifiable, which is not nothing. I darkened the linework a little in Paint.NET.)
For my future reference, this all started because I wanted to draw Bingo from Bluey!, which led me down a Youtube Art Videos For Kids rabbit hole. Then I bought new colour pencils and was noodling around with them, and people said nice things about some of my doodles... :-)
I've written a treat for
fandomtrees, but I need to make some edits, and I have no attention span. Chances of my finishing it are about 90%, and chances of any further treats are more like 30% at this stage. Maybe one day I'll be able to make art gifts...Life/health/mental state things
My arms are gradually improving, but I'm anxious about them. Andrew's having an operation this Thursday; I'll need to be able to bike and drive and cook and so on, and I'm still sore half the time. So I've started swimming again. (I stopped partly because I was avoiding public spaces where I couldn't mask, and partly because my long post-lockdown hair stays damp all day. But the outdoor pool is open for the summer, so I'm going for it.)
I just bought a small $2 desk at a junk shop so that I have a workspace to retreat to downstairs while Andrew's recuperating on the couch in the living room. I'll see how that goes.
I have a hand-me-down mini air fryer from my parents which I still haven't taken out for a spin. Quick/easy meal suggestions very welcome, especially if they're things I can throw together late at night, post hospital visits. (NB: I don't do onions or brassicas.)
Good things
Andrew, swimming, drawing, Kdramas, Guardian, Zhao Yunlaaaan, modern medicine. Cat:
Do you meditate?
yes, regularly
4 (7.8%)
yes, from time to time
12 (23.5%)
I used to
6 (11.8%)
I used to occasionally
4 (7.8%)
what you mean by 'meditate'?
7 (13.7%)
no
21 (41.2%)
other
3 (5.9%)
ticky-box of being squeamish about fingernail clippings
2 (3.9%)
ticky-box full of hockey show squee
6 (11.8%)
ticky-box full of feeling kind of zonky
21 (41.2%)
ticky-box full of skipping across treetops and dancing through the clouds
23 (45.1%)
ticky-box full of hugs
38 (74.5%)
fred_mouse) wrote2026-01-11 11:39 am2025 reading wrap up
hopefully this storygraph link goes to the public option, not the for me specifically option.
I'm choosing to not look at what was planned; I've already posted about my 5 star reads and some other thinking. This is me just reading through and having feelings.
- The first (We Were Dreamers, Simu Liu, biography) and last (The House That Horror Built, Christina Henry, horror) sure are an interesting juxtaposition
- The 'mood' graph seems weird and I wish it wasn't there
- Going back to study had a noticeable effect on how much I was reading, which is not a surprise
- I hate the way that storygraph does 'genre' because my top five are fantasy, science fiction, short stories, LGBTQIA+, and horror, only three of which I consider to be genres.
- 15 days per book as an average just shows how much my reading is an overlapping thing.
- 'top authors' - Katherine MacLean was 4 (that can't be right, there were 8 short stories, I must not have tracked them all), Premee Mohammed (3 stories, hmm, something odd there as well), and Dave Warner (3 books, that's a trilogy)
- average rating 3.75 - probably because the DNF/0 don't get counted; I gave 11 2 star ratings, which seems more than I would have expected. Most frequent rating of 4 is also higher than I would have expected.
- somehow there were 52 'new to me' authors, which is interesting because I felt like I was sticking to comfortable stuff.
- DNF - 22 books; not sure if that feels high
- read 24 of my books - I bet that this is an undercount, because I don't always mark books as owned, particularly if I only have them as ebook.
- it is weird that my highest rated reads tend to be non-fiction, because I read so little of it
I clicked through to the more detail
- most commonly applied tag is 'borrowed', applied to 21 books. 21 borrowed + 24 owned =/= the number read
- I need to update the tags on some, because they don't have the
-readsuffix added
yhlee) wrote2026-01-10 08:55 pmgratuitous digital art
Digital painting in Procreate, at 11"x17" print.
china_shop) wrote in fan_flashworks2026-01-11 03:24 pmChallenge 503: Sock
SOCK
As always, you can interpret the prompt literally or figuratively, in whatever way works for you.
Each work created for this challenge should be posted as a new entry to the comm. Posting starts now and continues up until the challenge ends at 4pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, 20th January. No sign-up required.
Mods will tag your work with fandom and challenge. When you've posted entries to three consecutive challenges, you will earn a name tag, and we'll go back and tag all your previous entries with your name.
All kinds of fanworks in all fandoms are welcome. Please have a look at our guidelines before you play. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact a mod. And if you have any suggestions for future challenges, you can leave them in the comments of this post.
You can view stats for
fan_flashworks entries and search and filter them via the Community Report and Creator Report. See our FAQ post for more details.Also, keep an eye out for the next
ffw_social post, which will go up in the next couple of days. If you haven't joined the ffw_social comm, it's never too late to come and check it out. (Posts are locked, which means you have to join to see them.)china_shop) wrote in fan_flashworks2026-01-11 03:17 pmAdmin: Challenge closed
Stranger Things: Fanfic: Sand by
wearing_tearingOriginal: icons: sand by
lilly_cMarvel Cinematic Universe: Fanfic: In a Grain of Sand by
alexcatdue South: Fanfiction: Sandy Boots by
lucy_romanSherlock Holmes (ACD): Fanfic: Beneath the Sand by
smallhobbitTerraria: Quatrain: A Prize to be Won by
infinitum_noctemFAKE: Fanfic: Wishful Thinking by
badly_knittedno fandom: icons: Sand by
highlander_iiMultifandom (TV): Icons: Life’s a Beach (9 icons) by
veronyxk84S.W.A.T.: Fan Fiction: Looking Forward To Most by
darkjediqueenUS Politics: poetry: the sand in the gears by
teaotterTorchwood: Fanfic: Newsworthy by
m_findlowHeated Rivalry: Fanfic: Sweaty, Salty, Sandy by
seeyouontheice子非鱼 (Zi Fei Yu): Fanfic: the same soul (make the ocean wider) by
bluedreamingAlso, congratulations to those who earned badges and name tags this round:
teaotter earned The Unstoppable (SILVER) (36 challenge streak).\o/ \o/ \o/
Thank you to everyone who participated! You're now free to post your entries to your journal or wherever else you'd like. If you're archiving on AO3, you can add your work to our fan_flashworks collection there.
The Community Report and Creator Report will be updated shortly with the entries from this round. See our FAQ for more details.
Next challenge coming right up.
fred_mouse) wrote2026-01-11 09:35 am(no subject)
Yesterday, I was having a conversation with Youngest about (SF) con-running. The topic was international guests, and what the timelines are for inviting them.
I said something flippant about 'well, that timeline would be doable these days, because everyone has email, at least we don't have to write letters'. And there was that moment where I could see Youngest's world view shift in real time, so we talked in a bit more detail about my memories of the first con I was involved in running*. That in 1996, when we were approaching people to be guests, email addresses were not ubiquitous**. That our primary method of contact was letters. And then I talked about the fact that we had to assume a best case scenario of a month turn around on anything we sent.
What I didn't think to say, is that because of that, there is a reasonably high chance that there is a letter from Douglas Adams in the WASFF archive. The reasons there might not be is that it might be from their agent, or it may have been lost when various documents were transferred to the archives.
* I was Treasurer for SwanCon 23 in 1998; that committee then did a quick reshuffle and ran SwanCon 25 in 2000. I started my committee habit early -- I was on the UniSFA (UWA SF club) as Fresher rep ('92), President ('93) and IPP ('94).
**We got into a side discussion about how rare email addresses were in 1992, when I got my first email address, when the uni I studied at decided to do the somewhat radical thing of provide an email address to any student who requested one, regardless of faculty. I'd love to know what the thinking was and whether it was 'this is going to become essential knowledge' or if it was something more.
adafrog) wrote in fandom_checkin2026-01-10 06:23 pmDaily Check In.
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 34
How are you doing?
I am okay
17 (51.5%)
I am not okay, but don't need help right now
16 (48.5%)
I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)
How many other humans are you living with?
I am living single
12 (35.3%)
One other person
14 (41.2%)
More than one other person
8 (23.5%)
Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
torachan) wrote2026-01-10 04:19 pm2026 Disneyland Trip #2 (1/10/26)
( Read more... )
sixbeforelunch) wrote in threeforthememories2026-01-10 07:06 pmthree moments
This is from a visit to my parents in Pennsylvania in May. I had a difficult trip with delayed and cancelled flights and a mad dash from one end of the Charlotte airport to the other to try and catch a plane. I was stressed and starving by the time I landed. Seeing this mural was just a tiny bit cheering in a moment when I really needed it.
( Read more... )
rachelmanija) wrote2026-01-10 03:19 pmHow to Stay Invisible, by Maggie C. Rudd
A middle-grade novel about a boy who lives in the woods, tagged as "A worthy successor to Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain."
12-year-old Raymond Hurley lives with his beloved dog Rosie and his neglectful, drug addict, emotionally abusive parents, who move constantly, have only cooked a homemade meal for him once in his entire life, and scream at him and stomp out when he cooks Thanksgiving for them. The one time he told anyone about this, he was temporarily placed in a children's home that was even worse than living with his parents, so he has decided to never tell anyone anything ever.
When they take off, ditching him and Rosie, he lives in the woods behind his middle-school. He continues attending school, as they feed him twice a day. Otherwise, he dumpster-dives after hours at the school, and fishes in the river. While this is all going on, he accidentally makes two friends at school despite his resolve to stay under the radar, accidentally befriends an old man who also fishes in the river, and accidentally tames a coyote (!), who he names Hank. But obviously, this is all unsustainable long-term...
This book isn't that much like the classic "kid survives in woods" books. It's not really about wilderness survival, it's about homelessness and the psychological effects of negligence. It doesn't have the vibe at all of something like Hatchet, where there's something satisfying and profound about living off the land and being in nature, even though it's hard and dangerous and uncomfortable. Raymond's life in the woods is just sad. It's closer to something like Homecoming, in which four kids abandoned by their mother make their way across the country in search of a home, but it's sadder and more aimless than that because Raymond is alone in his predicament and doesn't have a goal other than "stay out of the children's home."
The elements that are survival-y, like taming the coyote, clash with the overall feel of suburban social issue fiction. Especially because they're wildly unrealistic - you can't tame a coyote to the point of petting it and playing with it and having it play with your dog! A coyote will EAT your dog! (There's a key scene involving a venomous snake that also pinged my "it doesn't work that way" sense.)
I didn't really like this book, though it's not a bad book at all. I would have liked it better if it had fully committed to being a realistic book about a homeless child. I also would have liked it better if Raymond's big goal wasn't just "stay out of the children's home," but "stay out of the children's home because I hate it and they'll take away Rosie and who knows what will happen to her." He never once worries about that, which seems like a really odd thing to not be concerned about under the circumstances. If he'd been committed to protecting Rosie, it would have given him and the book more drive. I get that the writer wanted to have Raymond be more just drifting through life, but since he's putting a lot of effort into not getting caught, I think it would have made the book more compelling if the effort was connected to a living being he cared about.
The ending is an absolutely typical ending for this sort of book:
( Read more... )
Content notes: child abuse, homelessness, animal death.
aurumcalendula) wrote2026-01-10 06:17 pmJanuary Talking Meme - What should a mirror Georgiou centric movie have been about?
selenak( Read more... )
(there are still slots open for the January Talking Meme here)
mific) wrote2026-01-11 12:09 pmThe Empty Netters rock!
My initial main takeaways from these first two eps are:
The team logos were analysed. Shane's is M for the Metros (a bottom), and Ilya's is a cannon for the Raiders! (obvious symbolism). That has to be deliberate, right? Also hilarious!
Then these two comments, that added details I hadn't known.
I won't do a full transcript but the first says Reid wrote a bonus chapter on her website (a remix of the Vegas penthouse chapter, end of S2 in the show) with a bit more about Ilya's thoughts and feelings, his conflicts about returning to Russia and why he treats Shane badly. Here's the link.
The second comment clarifies that Putin only cracked down on gay people just before the Sochi Olympics. Before 2013 Russia had apparently become reasonably progressive. So Ilya would have been especially paranoid and freaked out at Sochi and would definitely have cold-shouldered Shane, as in canon. Also a nice pick-up that although Carter Vaughan means well, assuming the ice skater is gay was a microaggression, worse for Shane as Carter blithely assumes he's straight (and for Scott, but the Empty Netters don't know about Scott yet!).
I'm going to watch all the Empty Netters vids, but not right now. Jesus, I have to do something other than wallow in HR stuff all the time!