World Sports Photography Awards 2026 winner revealed
Jan. 15th, 2026 10:44 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
bbc_feedBBC Sport and the World Sport Photography Awards present a selection of the world's finest sporting images from this year's competition.
bbc_feedFound!: Looking for the name of a cat artist
Jan. 15th, 2026 10:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
carbonelHi! It's been a while, so it's a bit embarrassing that my first post is asking for help, but maybe it'll inspire me to do a better job of posting (I do read DW regularly, at least).
I posted this query in a couple of unrelated forums and got a lot of suggestions but not the correct one, so I’m trying again here.
On a group on Ravelry, someone posted Mary Engelbreit’s classic illustration of life being a chair of bowlies, and that reminded me that I’ve been trying to remember the name of the same sort of popular artist from the 1990s, but her specialty was cats. Mostly realistic-looking cats based on ones she actually knew, in characteristic cat-type positions, but with lots of colorful decorations in the rest of the picture. I had a couple of calendars and an organizer with her work, but I’ve totally forgotten her name. It might be a three-name name. There were a couple of years when her art was pretty much everywhere, and then she faded quickly, alas.
Does this ring a bell for anyone?
ETA: One of my friends on Ravelry finally found it after (counts) twelve wrong guesses. There are a lot of cat artists out there! The artist in question is Lesley Anne Ivory.
Names that it's not:
B. Kliban
Laurel Burch
Doris Hays
Susan Herbert
Lesley Fotherby
Linda Jane Smith
Lisa Frank
Elizabeth Blackadder
I posted this query in a couple of unrelated forums and got a lot of suggestions but not the correct one, so I’m trying again here.
On a group on Ravelry, someone posted Mary Engelbreit’s classic illustration of life being a chair of bowlies, and that reminded me that I’ve been trying to remember the name of the same sort of popular artist from the 1990s, but her specialty was cats. Mostly realistic-looking cats based on ones she actually knew, in characteristic cat-type positions, but with lots of colorful decorations in the rest of the picture. I had a couple of calendars and an organizer with her work, but I’ve totally forgotten her name. It might be a three-name name. There were a couple of years when her art was pretty much everywhere, and then she faded quickly, alas.
Does this ring a bell for anyone?
ETA: One of my friends on Ravelry finally found it after (counts) twelve wrong guesses. There are a lot of cat artists out there! The artist in question is Lesley Anne Ivory.
Names that it's not:
B. Kliban
Laurel Burch
Doris Hays
Susan Herbert
Lesley Fotherby
Linda Jane Smith
Lisa Frank
Elizabeth Blackadder
I guess I can't blame him for the French part with that name tho
Jan. 15th, 2026 06:35 pmcimorenecimorene: I actually was impressed enough with Francois Arnaud to go watch him in other stuff, but not enough to watch The Borgias.waxjism: Would you watch some fuckass weird French Canadian arty movie? Are you willing to watch Xavier Dolan?cimorene: I've heard of that, but I don't know who it is.waxjism: That's what it is. French Canadian arty weird movie. I think it's blahblah from year, or year. And I think it's in French. cimorene: Okay, definitely not.Just One Thing (15 January 2026)
Jan. 15th, 2026 04:29 pmnanila posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
awesomeersIt's challenge time!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished! Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
European military personnel arrive in Greenland as Trump says US needs island
Jan. 15th, 2026 04:12 pmbbc_feedFrance says a small military contingent has arrived and more forces will be there in the coming days.
bbc_feedGrok will no longer allow users to remove clothing from images of real people in jurisdictions where it is illegal.
Community Recs Post!
Jan. 15th, 2026 11:16 amglitteryv posting in recthethingEvery Thursday, we have a community post, just like this one, where you can drop a rec or five in the comments.
This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)
(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)
So what cool fics/fanart/fanvids/podfics/fancrafts/other kinds of fanworks have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.
BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here.
This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)
(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)
So what cool fics/fanart/fanvids/podfics/fancrafts/other kinds of fanworks have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.
BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here.
taro
Jan. 15th, 2026 09:02 amprettygoodwordtaro (TAHR-oh, TAIR-oh) - n., a widely cultivated tropical Asian plant (Colocasia esculenta) with large arrow-shaped leaves and edible starchy corms; any of several related plants (genera Colocasia, Alocasia, Xanthosoma, etc.) cultivated for their corms or as ornamentals; the starchy corm from these plants, food made from the corms.
.JPG/500px-Satoimo(Japan).JPG)
Thanks, WikiMedia!
When grown as ornamentals, taro plants are often called elephant ears, for some indeed have very large leaves. This was mentioned in the entry on potatoes, but just to reiterate, taros aren’t related to either potatoes (which are nightshades) or sweet potatoes (which are morning glories), and instead are arums. Convergent evolution in action. Colocasia esculenta is native to southeast Asia and was probably domesticated in Malaysia. It was one of the staple crops Polynesians carried wherever they settled, and it’s even called taro in several languages (others have sound changes), but we got the name specifically from Maori via Captain Cook’s account of his voyages, where he first describes it as a Maori crop.
---L.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
When grown as ornamentals, taro plants are often called elephant ears, for some indeed have very large leaves. This was mentioned in the entry on potatoes, but just to reiterate, taros aren’t related to either potatoes (which are nightshades) or sweet potatoes (which are morning glories), and instead are arums. Convergent evolution in action. Colocasia esculenta is native to southeast Asia and was probably domesticated in Malaysia. It was one of the staple crops Polynesians carried wherever they settled, and it’s even called taro in several languages (others have sound changes), but we got the name specifically from Maori via Captain Cook’s account of his voyages, where he first describes it as a Maori crop.
---L.
January Talking Meme - Dream Job?
Jan. 15th, 2026 11:12 amaurumcalendulaJan 15 - 'Dream Job?' for corvidology
( Read more... )
(there are still slots open for the January Talking Meme here)
corvidology ( Read more... )
(there are still slots open for the January Talking Meme here)
Tracked Our
Jan. 15th, 2026 07:46 amsusandennisI had planned to track a bunch of stuff every day. But, when my brother was here, I fell off the wagon. And now that it looks like I'll be tracking shots, body and meals, maybe I won't do the rest OR maybe I'll do it differently.
And... speaking of shots. Crickets from NovoCare. Well, not totally. I did get a request to opt into texts. Which I did. Then crickets. Because I asked my doctor to try Amazon, the request went to my insurer who declined BUT they did recommend I try NovoCare! haha So I wait.
I pulled out my Kindle Scribe for note taking at the meeting yesterday and then I volunteered to take the minutes and prepare the agenda. I scribbled in the scribe which was perfect. But I spent some time with it last night and figured out how to write with the pen quickly in a manner that I can then easily turn into text when I get home. Harriet, the committee chair, has Apple and Word so I can use Google docs, save it as Word and she'll be able to tweak it. She wants to meet this morning at 9. So there goes my day of nothing BUT I need to pick up our floor's Timber Ridge Times anyway so no biggie.
After that, I'll take the day off.
The cats finally got together in their dog bed, but they slept in their closet beds. I guess I'll move those to under the bed, too. We'll have bunk beds! Dibs on top.
I think I need to power wash this Chromebook which in chromebook-ese means take it back to factory settings. It's an easy and fast enough thing to do. It's just getting slow-ish and it's been a long time.
But, first I need to get dressed. My pajamas are nice but not Meet Harriet nice.
And... speaking of shots. Crickets from NovoCare. Well, not totally. I did get a request to opt into texts. Which I did. Then crickets. Because I asked my doctor to try Amazon, the request went to my insurer who declined BUT they did recommend I try NovoCare! haha So I wait.
I pulled out my Kindle Scribe for note taking at the meeting yesterday and then I volunteered to take the minutes and prepare the agenda. I scribbled in the scribe which was perfect. But I spent some time with it last night and figured out how to write with the pen quickly in a manner that I can then easily turn into text when I get home. Harriet, the committee chair, has Apple and Word so I can use Google docs, save it as Word and she'll be able to tweak it. She wants to meet this morning at 9. So there goes my day of nothing BUT I need to pick up our floor's Timber Ridge Times anyway so no biggie.
After that, I'll take the day off.
The cats finally got together in their dog bed, but they slept in their closet beds. I guess I'll move those to under the bed, too. We'll have bunk beds! Dibs on top.
I think I need to power wash this Chromebook which in chromebook-ese means take it back to factory settings. It's an easy and fast enough thing to do. It's just getting slow-ish and it's been a long time.
But, first I need to get dressed. My pajamas are nice but not Meet Harriet nice.
Loki Here!
Jan. 15th, 2026 02:00 pmcakewrecks_feedThor's Hammer:
NAILED IT:
And for their next wreck, these bakers will turn the name "John" into "Thor!"
Not gonna lie: I'm kind of impressed.
Thanks to Jennifer R. & Kathy B. for assembling today's wreckage. And don't you worry, John; you shall be avenged.
*****
Now, let's talk about this bottle opener:
... and the hilarious looks you'll get when everyone thinks you're about to smash open your bottles, haha.
******
And from my other blog, Epbot:
2026.01.15
Jan. 15th, 2026 10:10 amlsandersonAll ICE: ( Read more... )
The full list of 75 countries where Trump is suspending visa processing
The Trump administration indefinitely suspended immigrant visa processing from 75 countries – see which nations have been affected
Joseph Gedeon in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/full-list-75-countries-visa-processing-suspended
Trump is making China – not America – great again, global survey suggests
Exclusive: US is less feared by its traditional adversaries, while its allies feel ever more distant, results show
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/global-survey-suggests-trump-is-making-china-not-america-great-again
Suspended Michigan autoworker who heckled Trump gets outpouring of donations
Tens of thousands of dollars raised for TJ Sabula after he reportedly calls Trump ‘pedophile protector’ during Ford plant tour
Michael Sainato
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/trump-suspended-michigan-autoworker
Wolf’s dinner preserved in Siberia for 14,400 years sheds light on woolly rhino
Decoded genome of meat in pup’s stomach helps scientists build picture of what caused extinction of species
Ian Sample Science editor
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/14/wolf-cub-preserved-permafrost-woolly-rhino ( Read more... )
The full list of 75 countries where Trump is suspending visa processing
The Trump administration indefinitely suspended immigrant visa processing from 75 countries – see which nations have been affected
Joseph Gedeon in Washington
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/full-list-75-countries-visa-processing-suspended
Trump is making China – not America – great again, global survey suggests
Exclusive: US is less feared by its traditional adversaries, while its allies feel ever more distant, results show
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/global-survey-suggests-trump-is-making-china-not-america-great-again
Suspended Michigan autoworker who heckled Trump gets outpouring of donations
Tens of thousands of dollars raised for TJ Sabula after he reportedly calls Trump ‘pedophile protector’ during Ford plant tour
Michael Sainato
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/trump-suspended-michigan-autoworker
Wolf’s dinner preserved in Siberia for 14,400 years sheds light on woolly rhino
Decoded genome of meat in pup’s stomach helps scientists build picture of what caused extinction of species
Ian Sample Science editor
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/14/wolf-cub-preserved-permafrost-woolly-rhino ( Read more... )
Games Workshop and Bandcamp ban the use of AI! And Matthew McConaughey trademarks himself.
Jan. 15th, 2026 08:43 amthewayneTwo companies, one common theme.
Games Workshop is the source of all things Warhammer. And they have "banned the use of AI in its content production and its design process, insisting that none of its senior managers are currently excited about the technology." Senior management are fiddling with it to see if it'll do anything truly useful, otherwise they are shunning it.
Good on them!
https://www.ign.com/articles/warhammer-maker-games-workshop-bans-its-staff-from-using-ai-in-its-content-or-designs-says-none-of-its-senior-managers-are-currently-excited-about-the-tech
https://games.slashdot.org/story/26/01/15/0446208/warhammer-maker-games-workshop-bans-its-staff-from-using-ai-in-its-content-or-designs
In like fashion, the independent music platform Bandcamp has banned AI-generated music from being posted on their system. They have their own Reddit page and announced “Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp,” the company wrote in a post to the r/bandcamp subreddit. The new policy also prohibits “any use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles.”"Our guidelines for generative AI in music and audio are as follows:
- Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp.
- Any use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles is strictly prohibited in accordance with our existing policies prohibiting impersonation and intellectual property infringement.
If you encounter music or audio that appears to be made entirely or with heavy reliance on generative AI, please use our reporting tools to flag the content for review by our team. We reserve the right to remove any music on suspicion of being AI generated. We will be sure to communicate any updates to the policy as the rapidly changing generative AI space develops."
So they have tools in-place for reviewing suspect material. Excellent!
One of the first comments on Slashdot was that if Stevie Wonder can make music using computers, there's little reason to use generative AI.
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/01/bandcamp-bans-purely-ai-generated-music-from-its-platform/
https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/26/01/14/2149259/bandcamp-bans-ai-music
And finally, Matthew McConaughey. He filed EIGHT applications with the Patent and Trademark Office - ALL APPROVED - to protect his image and voice against AI use. Basically any AI generation of his likeness can be slapped with a lawsuit for trademark violation! This should give him a very good level of control over the use of his image, and for his family to control it after he has passed.
I expect to see land rush business among other celebrities as news of this spreads, especially after he sues his first victim.
https://www.msn.com/en-in/entertainment/celebrities/matthew-mcconaughey-trademarks-himself-to-fight-ai-misuse/ar-AA1UaVvt
Games Workshop is the source of all things Warhammer. And they have "banned the use of AI in its content production and its design process, insisting that none of its senior managers are currently excited about the technology." Senior management are fiddling with it to see if it'll do anything truly useful, otherwise they are shunning it.
Good on them!
https://www.ign.com/articles/warhammer-maker-games-workshop-bans-its-staff-from-using-ai-in-its-content-or-designs-says-none-of-its-senior-managers-are-currently-excited-about-the-tech
https://games.slashdot.org/story/26/01/15/0446208/warhammer-maker-games-workshop-bans-its-staff-from-using-ai-in-its-content-or-designs
In like fashion, the independent music platform Bandcamp has banned AI-generated music from being posted on their system. They have their own Reddit page and announced “Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp,” the company wrote in a post to the r/bandcamp subreddit. The new policy also prohibits “any use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles.”"Our guidelines for generative AI in music and audio are as follows:
- Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp.
- Any use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles is strictly prohibited in accordance with our existing policies prohibiting impersonation and intellectual property infringement.
If you encounter music or audio that appears to be made entirely or with heavy reliance on generative AI, please use our reporting tools to flag the content for review by our team. We reserve the right to remove any music on suspicion of being AI generated. We will be sure to communicate any updates to the policy as the rapidly changing generative AI space develops."
So they have tools in-place for reviewing suspect material. Excellent!
One of the first comments on Slashdot was that if Stevie Wonder can make music using computers, there's little reason to use generative AI.
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/01/bandcamp-bans-purely-ai-generated-music-from-its-platform/
https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/26/01/14/2149259/bandcamp-bans-ai-music
And finally, Matthew McConaughey. He filed EIGHT applications with the Patent and Trademark Office - ALL APPROVED - to protect his image and voice against AI use. Basically any AI generation of his likeness can be slapped with a lawsuit for trademark violation! This should give him a very good level of control over the use of his image, and for his family to control it after he has passed.
I expect to see land rush business among other celebrities as news of this spreads, especially after he sues his first victim.
https://www.msn.com/en-in/entertainment/celebrities/matthew-mcconaughey-trademarks-himself-to-fight-ai-misuse/ar-AA1UaVvt
Millions of people to see their local council elections delayed
Jan. 15th, 2026 03:40 pmbbc_feedMost wanting a delay are Labour-led but two are Tory councils and one is a Lib Dem authority.
Rejections, depression & promise to his mum - Thiago's route to top
Jan. 15th, 2026 03:33 pmbbc_feedIgor Thiago's route to the Premier League has been far from straightforward - BBC Sport charts the rise of Brentford's record-breaking Brazilian striker.
Iran judiciary denies plan to execute detained protester Erfan Soltani
Jan. 15th, 2026 03:29 pmbbc_feedThe judiciary says Soltani is not facing charges carrying the death penalty, while a rights group reports that the execution has been "postponed".
Rival chip shop-owning brothers call each night 'to see who's taken the most'
Jan. 15th, 2026 03:18 pmbbc_feedEmir and Ouday Hikary's south Wales businesses have both made the top 10 UK takeaways.
Robert Jenrick: The Tory big-hitter ejected from party he wanted to lead
Jan. 15th, 2026 02:40 pmbbc_feedThe former minister is looking for a new political home after being sacked by Kemi Badenoch.
Yuletide!
Jan. 15th, 2026 10:49 amoracnePlease feel free to link me to all your Yuletide recommendations!
I gave up on most of my fanfiction reading logging the last couple of months, but hope to start that up again soon. In the meantime, I post TBR Challenge and monthly reading logs on my website/blog - I haven't been cross-posting here recently, my apologies, but my reading has been pretty sparse anyway. My December reading log goes live there Friday morning.
I gave up on most of my fanfiction reading logging the last couple of months, but hope to start that up again soon. In the meantime, I post TBR Challenge and monthly reading logs on my website/blog - I haven't been cross-posting here recently, my apologies, but my reading has been pretty sparse anyway. My December reading log goes live there Friday morning.
.JPG){kind=link}