The Friday Five for 16 January 2026
Jan. 15th, 2026 05:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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thefridayfiveThese questions were written by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
frieliegh.
1. If you could change one life-changing event in the life of someone important to you, would you?
2. Which do you think is easier to do, being friends for many years, or being life partners for many years?
3. Have you ever walked away from someone you considered a friend?
4. If you had to choose between telling the truth and hurting a friend or lying and making them happy, which would you choose?
5. Which would you rather hear--the truth which will hurt, or the comforting lie?
Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.
If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!
frieliegh.1. If you could change one life-changing event in the life of someone important to you, would you?
2. Which do you think is easier to do, being friends for many years, or being life partners for many years?
3. Have you ever walked away from someone you considered a friend?
4. If you had to choose between telling the truth and hurting a friend or lying and making them happy, which would you choose?
5. Which would you rather hear--the truth which will hurt, or the comforting lie?
Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.
If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!
new dS Word Search (Fannish Fifty #6)
Jan. 15th, 2026 03:42 pmverushka70Over in the private Fraser/Kowalski Facebook group, Regina Keim posted a new due South word search with the tagline "New Year, New Word Search."
You can access it here, even if you can't see the group's posts because you're not a member.
You can access it here, even if you can't see the group's posts because you're not a member.
When I was a kid I read a Sleator book
Jan. 16th, 2026 04:42 pmconulyin which two teens independently fall into a toxic mud puddle and develop mind-reading abilities. Spoilers, they're not the only ones!
They're at a family reunion, and one person mentions that there have been a few breakins, how odd, because all the broken-in houses had security systems. And as they mention that, everybody in range automatically thinks their PINs. This, of course, is how the (telepathic!) thief had broken into the houses in the first place.
Ever since then, every time I've had to enter a PIN or a password anywhere, I've carefully also thought some other random letters or numbers. It's a silly habit, which I only developed long after I outgrew poking around closets for Narnia and had nearly outgrown poking around closets for secret passageways, and it wouldn't really deter a mind-reading thief for very long, but I still do it. If there ever is a telepathic malefactor in close proximity to me, at least they'll have to to try a few different codes to use my bank card!
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( Read more... )
They're at a family reunion, and one person mentions that there have been a few breakins, how odd, because all the broken-in houses had security systems. And as they mention that, everybody in range automatically thinks their PINs. This, of course, is how the (telepathic!) thief had broken into the houses in the first place.
Ever since then, every time I've had to enter a PIN or a password anywhere, I've carefully also thought some other random letters or numbers. It's a silly habit, which I only developed long after I outgrew poking around closets for Narnia and had nearly outgrown poking around closets for secret passageways, and it wouldn't really deter a mind-reading thief for very long, but I still do it. If there ever is a telepathic malefactor in close proximity to me, at least they'll have to to try a few different codes to use my bank card!
( Read more... )
Poetry Fishbowl Themes for Early 2026
Jan. 15th, 2026 02:42 pmysabetwordsmithThis poll covers the ideas proposed in the recent call for themes. Everyone is eligible to vote in this poll. I will keep it open until at least Friday night. If there are clear answers then, I'll close it. Otherwise I may leave it open a little longer. If you don't have a Dreamwidth account, you can vote in an anonymous comment or email to me, but include some kind of handle to distinguish yourself.
For this poll, you can vote for as many themes as you find appealing. I recommend that you don't vote for all of them, since that makes it harder to whittle down the list. The themes are arranged in alphabetical order.
Here are your options ...
( Read more... )
For this poll, you can vote for as many themes as you find appealing. I recommend that you don't vote for all of them, since that makes it harder to whittle down the list. The themes are arranged in alphabetical order.
Here are your options ...
( Read more... )
Wildlife
Jan. 15th, 2026 02:21 pmysabetwordsmithMonkeys With Smaller Testicles Scream Louder to Compensate
It's a "calls vs balls" tradeoff.
It’s a long-held belief that loudmouths overcompensate for something, but in the case of howler monkeys, science has confirmed it’s a biological fact. A landmark study by Dr. Jacob Dunn at Cambridge University, along with 2026 follow-up research, has established that monkeys who scream the loudest effectively “pay” for that volume with significantly smaller testes and lower sperm counts.
You gotta wonder if this applies to humans and some of their absurd behavior.
It's a "calls vs balls" tradeoff.
It’s a long-held belief that loudmouths overcompensate for something, but in the case of howler monkeys, science has confirmed it’s a biological fact. A landmark study by Dr. Jacob Dunn at Cambridge University, along with 2026 follow-up research, has established that monkeys who scream the loudest effectively “pay” for that volume with significantly smaller testes and lower sperm counts.
You gotta wonder if this applies to humans and some of their absurd behavior.
Neighborhood Poetry
Jan. 15th, 2026 02:06 pmysabetwordsmithsef1029 shared a picture of a tiny bulletin board for neighborhood poetry. This is the kind of thing that anyone could put up, a riff on the Little Free (whatever) concept. It would work just as well for any kind of creative writing that fits on one page, like nature writing or drabbles, as well as things like copies of a journal page with a sketch and description of local flora or fauna. No poem? No problem! Sponsors of my work get nonexclusive reprint rights. I'd be happy to write one-page poems for neighborhood use. See something of mine that you already like? Chip in, you're a cosponsor, you can pass around free copies.
Also keep an eye out for local poets in your area who might like to participate. Watch for bookstores, libraries, coffeehouses, etc. to host an open mike night, poetry reading, author signing, etc. where you can meet poets from your area. These also make good places to put up a poetry post, indoors or outdoors.
Of course, you could also look up classic poems in the public domain and use those.