1. There's a lot of building going on in my town; I know our university enrollment is increasing, but at a certain point you wonder where the fuck people are coming from -- or if those building are just as happy to get a tax break on empty apartments. It means that I have houses going in next to me (thank God for parents who put up growing barriers, and planted the house way back from the street), and new units going in down the street, and way the fuck too many people in my small town.
2. However, I still have wildlife in the form of birds, squirrels, possums, raccoons, foxes, and... kittens. I have kittens growing on my ivy. That I thankfully did NOT manage to kill or even injure when I mowed over them in the middle of a huge patch of overgrown ivy on Sunday. Unfortunately, after an unsuccessful attempt to catch the mother that evening, she has moved them, which means I'm stressing about the poor little guys (4, two orange, two gray/black/stripey), and I can't finish my mowing, because they may be somewhere else in the midst of the ivy.
3. I finally got the tree that had fallen in my back yard on top of my septic system, yay. Now I need to call the guy to come teach me how to take care of it (the care contract expired a while back, and they never contacted me about renewal)...
4. Why must so many things cost money? I need plumbing and electrical redone, upholstering done, I dread that an appliace will die any day (probably the refrigerator or the washer or dryer), I need new tennis shoes, I have a credit card to pay off that I keep not having enough for major payments on, bleah. Financial stress is the worst.
5. OTOH, thanks to a dear, dear friend that I can never thank enough for all she's done for me, I will be at VVC, which is awesome.
6. I've owned cats for nearly 30 years, and for the first time, one of them has decided that the house's woodwork is JUST PERFECT for scratching post material. Specifically, my door frames. And being the oblivious type, I have only really just seen it, although it's been ongoing for a bit. Stupid furballs.
7. I have managed to barely get any work done for a couple of weeks, and it has to stop. We don't have books incoming, so the multiple carts in my area are--
[ETA to continue post, which was accidentally posted sigh]
--VERY CONSPICUOUS.
8. I am currently reading Elizabeth Moon's Ky Vatta series, which I like a lot. I seem to have a thing for female protagonist space operaish things, like this and Honor Harrington and Tanya Huff's series. Anyone know of any more? I've also read most of Rita Mae Brown's Mrs Murphy series, which was nice cozy fluff. I'm in the midst of reading the Spenser series, and I finished catching up on the Richard Jury series by Martha Grimes.
9. Also, I am watching ALL the things! Well, a hell of a lot of them. I caught up on Mad Men and Magic City, I'm behind on Grimm and SPN and VD and Scandal and Smash and Missing and Secret Circle and The Firm. They've cancelled Alcatraz and The Finder, which makes me go "aw" even as I get why. And I have over a hundred series in development I'm keeping an eye on, although most of them are probably never going to achieve reality. I liked the series finale of In Plain Sight; I had a fear that was not realized, and Mary and Marshall are so adorable together. *g* It leaves everyone in a place I can appreciate, and whoa, did Stan look hot in his open-necked shirt. *fans self*
ETA: comments on LJ now contain IPS spoilers for the finale.
10. This space had a brief bit on my current health practices or lack thereof, then my not having seen the Avengers, and neither seemed anything but completely dull. Apparently I really only have brain enough for 9 things today...
Okay, here's a 10: the major reason to post is to get to use my sigs, and this one seems extremely apropos to my life at the moment.
"The best thing for being sad," replied Merlyn, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That is the ony thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then - to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. --The Once and Future King, T.H. White
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
The only way to become the kind of person I want to become is to be that person.It's been followed by a series of smaller epiphanies, like, the only way to get up earlier is to... get up earlier. Nobody is going to wake me up (although the cats sometimes try). The only way to start exercising is to do it, etc.
And the only way to be someone who posts to her DW is to actually post. So, here, have a post! It may be months before there's another one, who knows.
I've been keeping up with a small group of people on DW/LJ, although I keep realizing I haven't kept up with someone I wanted to. I've commented here and there, but I've really not had much of anything to say, so I haven't. And then that becomes a habit.
I'm thinking a lot. I have a lot of thoughts -- just not a lot I feel compelled to share. And yes, even though I say I don't have much to say, this will probably be a longish post; these two things do not contradict each other. I mean, the vast majority of posts don't really say much, do they? Ahem. Most of them (most of mine) feel like the equivalent of small talk, and I don't usually enjoy engaging in a lot of small talk, so.... Yeah.
I lost a cat, Austin, to old age exacerbated by a tumor in his bladder a couple of weeks ago. He was a skittyboo, my mother's cat, who never took to me (although he was supposed to be my cat, originally) until she'd been dead for a year or two. He'd changed in the last few years, getting almost cuddly, in a "I will never be a lap cat" sort of way. He'd follow me into the bathroom, where I was safely trapped sitting down, and was all over me once I was in bed, butting my head a bit, or reaching out to go, "Hey. Hey. Hey. Pet me. Hey." It's sad, of course, but unlike with people, knowing that death is coming makes it easier for me to deal with, with pets. He's actually the first cat I've ever had that's survived to a ripe old age -- he was around 18 when he died.
What else, what else... I'm watching ALL the TV, and enjoying most of it, with a fairly uncritical eye. As long as it entertains me and has people I can like, and doesn't make my eye twitch uncontrollably, I'm happy. I can hardly wait for the finale of Justified -- so many smart people trying to take each other down, surrounded by realistically incompetent greedy SoBs!
I didn't go to Escapade, and the chances of going to VVC are very, very slim, mostly for financial reasons. My goal this year is to live as a mostly responsible adult, and that's part of the sacrifice.
Oh, and here's an awesome interview with Peter Dinklage.
And here's the real reason I want to get back to posting: to use my vast collection of sigs. *g*
I'm all for retellings -- for building on myth -- for the long tradition of the storyteller, but this is just the bloody end times, I tell you what. Not in fire, not in ice, oh no -- the world will end in a storm of frantic cultural self-referentialism. I'm looking at YOU, "The Producers" and "Hairspray", and YOU, "Young Frankenstein", are ON NOTICE. --LJV
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
Under the new policy, Google will be able to track and connect your movements across a pretty wide swath of the web if you're logged in to even a single Google service; e.g., if you're logged into Gmail in one tab, Google will know what Youtube videos you watch in other tabs, even if you don't have a Youtube account. It will also connect any searches you make through Google to your Google profile, if you're logged in to your Gmail (or Youtube, or Google Reader, or Picasa, or Blogger, etc.) account.
Also, um. Hi! Still alive, mostly. One terminally ill cat who is otherwise doing pretty well, but made it an even wiser choice not to have spent money on Escapade this year, allergies that are trying to completely dehydrate me, and a temperament that makes it unsafe to be too much around people, but other than that....
Therienne: On metafilter today there was a link to an article about how necrophila is not wrong, it's just hangup we have, and the debate then went onwards, "Is Necrophilia Wrong?" I feel they are asking the wrong question. Is Necrophilia SANITARY, that is WHAT THEY SHOULD BE ASKING. Because it is not. And surely, this is how the zombie apocalypse will *begin*.
Arduinna: ... the zombie apocalypse will only start that way if necrophilia results in necropregnancies that produce viable (... inviable?) zombie offpsring. Dear god it will be a whole new genre: npreg.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
Today in particular I'm really feeling my own special Yuletide-related stress, compounded by RL (minor) stress, and I could use a little reassurance. *g*
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
However, if you work better with some prompts, I have some! If they look familiar to anyone, yes, some of them I've used asked for, before -- but these fandoms can always use more stories!
Peacemakers (Detective Larimer Finch, Marshal Jared Stone)
Optional Details are Optional! Prompts are: competence, teasing, contrasts, reserve, intimacy. Jared Stone and Larimer Finch are a study in contrasts, in tone, in dress, in behavior, with each of them betraying that there's more to them than what you initially see, and complementing each other wonderfully. Finch's competence with his knife and lack of hesitation to use it, Jared's keen intelligence where he sometimes seems slower compared to Finch's quick mind. There's something between them from the start, they each see something in the other that they respect, and that attracts them to each other. I'd love to see that play out in either something with a bit of plot, or in quiet moments together, where we learn more about one or both of them, where they come from, how they ended up where they are. Or maybe something where they're at odds about a case, or something that happens in town, and have to deal with that. A first-time slash story would be grand, but something about these two getting to know each other better and gaining intimacy is what I'm looking for.
I love western TV shows, the old-style manliness, and when you mingle that with the development of early forensics? This show never got the audience it deserved! These guys, they save each others lives a lot, and they live up to their names: Jared Stone, solid, reliable, a bit rough in demeanor sometimes, quiet, methodical, slow to get stirred up, but capable of fiery explosion when he does. And Larimer Finch, a bit flighty, quick, in mind and movement, curious, able to soar. Also, he's good with knives. Um. There's that scary, wonderful competence again. And Jared shaves in front of him, while Finch plays him music! Jared takes Finch's coffee as if it's there just for him! And together, they fight crime.
Martha Grimes - Richard Jury series (Melrose Plant,Richard Jury)
Optional Details are Optional! Prompts are: wit, isolation, warmth, mutual admiration, reaching out. I actually just started rereading these recently, and haven't gotten very far. Richard seems so very isolated, but doesn't seem to want to be, while Melrose seems content in solitude (such as his aunt gives him), but finds in Richard someone that makes him want more, that brings a new aspect to his life that he enjoys. And it's fascinating to me how quickly they seem to become friends, and how much they *notice* each other (including each how nice looking the other is *g*). I'd love a story about a trip taken together, how their differences both intrigue and discomfit each other, or some kind of ridiculous caper where Richard loses his dignity but has a great deal of fun. I think Melrose could show him a good time. And if it led to physical intimacy, I'm all over that, but as with the others, there's an emotional hit for me just in the sense of broken reserve and mutual interest, need, and admiration.
Years ago I read a good number of these, and last year I picked up the ones I was missing and started rereading, and I have to say, it's a whole different series for me now. *g* Richard is so lonely, rather morose, with a tendency towards darkness in some ways, I think, while Melrose has much more whimsy and humor -- although that isn't fair, really. Richard has a good sense of humor, it's just not as easily stirred, maybe? For Melrose, Richard brings excitement, I think, while Melrose gives Richard some connection, friendship he very much needs, otherwise it's all just about the job.
The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne (Jules Verne, Phileas Fogg)
Prompts are: Devotion, competence, danger, vulnerability, broken reserve. Phileas is so reserved most of the time, I'd love a story that broke through that, where he betrays that Jules has gotten under his skin, as a friend, or as something more. Maybe Jules in danger, even presumed dead, and Phileas to the rescue, against all odds, refusing to believe he's dead? Or vice-versa. Or something else entirely! If you do slash, I'm fine with explicitness and prefer first-time stories, but mostly I want to see the passion under Phileas's manner, whether sexual or that of intense devotion and loyalty to a friend. I'd love it if Rebecca were there, too, and Passepartout, as well, but I didn't list them, so whatever you want to do, I'll be happy!
I so love this show! The steampunk Victoriana of it, the OTT plots, the crazy enemies, the earth-shattering kabooms! Um. Ahem. Phileas is so prim, so precise, so proper in his own odd way, even as he thwarts convention, a bit old before his time, but with a great deal of intensity underneath. Jules is messy, loud, young, full of energy and prone to mistakes, which Phileas then has to clean up, and desperate to please and find favor. Phileas doesn't want to be bothered -- but he is bothered, in spite of himself, cares more than he thinks is safe. Yum.
Haven (Nathan Wuornos, Duke Crocker)
Prompts are: trust issues, reliability, the past. snarky asides. These two seem to be close to blows most of the time, yet more often than not are there when they need each other. I am slash-oriented, so any kind of slashy subtext or text is terrific, if you're comfortable with that. However mostly I'm wanting to see them have to deal with each other, a situation or circumstance where they have to trust each other, a major situation, or a minor one. Maybe they have to spend a day together, or get trapped out on a boat, or... Or something about their past -- I feel like at some point, when they were quite young, they were close, and then they drifted apart -- or more likely, were blown apart, explosively. And/or a moment of realization that they have about each other, a moment of tenderness -- I can't get that scene out of my head from the Groundhog Day episode, when Audrey finds Duke dead, and Nathan almost comes apart.
I love Audrey, too, don't get me wrong, and I can see her with either of these guys (or both, which I don't often say!), but I can also see her on her own, or with someone else, much more clearly than I can see them with anyone else, if we're talking romantically. I also feel that Audrey isn't forever; she's here now, because of the troubles, but when the troubles fade, maybe Audrey fades, too, leaving Duke and Nathan bound together through her and the troubles. And it seems to me that they're going to have to rely on each other to *get* through the troubles -- and I'd love to see a bit of that.
ETA: To anyone reading to whom these look familiar, most of them are, indeed, cribbed from past YT letters. The only way I was going to persuade myself to sign up this year was if I didn't have to think about it too hard. No offense intended to previous writers!
( I made it not quite two and a half minutes. )
And why not, let's throw some sexism into the post (thanks to
![[dreamwidth.org profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
j_crew_guy for the link):The Big Sexy Problem with Superheroines and Their 'Liberated Sexuality'
I keep getting spam offering to make me a hero in bed, and wondering if they include both boots *and* a cape. --Margie
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
I'm not sure what's different tonight, but here I am. Life's been... Well, I started to say life's been full, but I'm not sure that's true. Actually, it's true, but not in the sense of "life's been busy," really.
There is too much! I will sum up. Okay, I suck at summing up, so let me ramble.
( VVC and the unrelated aftermath, involving finances. )
So, yeah, things are financially tight around here, and I need to make a concerted effort to exert some self-denial and focus on paying off what I owe, and then saving enough to get some things done around the house that really need to be done. These are not things I am good at, sadly. *g*
But as I said, my life is full, and I mean that in the best sense. My health is good, probably better than it has been in years. I'm walking at least 10,000 steps (around 4m or so) five times a week, and eating a healthier diet overall (with occasional frivolity like the pint of B&J I ate for dinner...), and I've lost 40 pounds in the process. My focus isn't losing weight, but I'm happy about it.
And things have finally cooled off around here! We had the hottest summer on record, with something like 70+ days over 100 degrees, a number of those up around or above 110. Combined with a drought that's one of the three worst since the dust bowl (less than half our usual rainfall), and everything around here looks singed and weary, plants and animals. The last couple of weeks have been gorgeous, with only a couple days up around 100, and blessed rain falling several times. It was COLD a day or two, people! Wet stuff fell from the sky!
And along with the cooler weather has come my desire to cook, which parallels the devastation of my pre-cooked freezer meals, so this weekend I've cooked up a storm:
Potato-Quinoa-Leek Soup, 16 portions
Turkey Chili, 9 portions
Mexican Pork and Sweet Potato Stew, 8-10 portions
Mushroom and Black Bean Chili, 10 portions
A couple portions of each stay out to feed me lunch and dinner over the next week, the rest gets frozen in multi-portion containers for consumption over the next however long.
I am also waiting in frustrated anticipation to see if I got on the list for a fall/winter CSA, the first one I've found around here that comes to my home town. I could join one that I had to drive 90 miles or so to pick up, but it ain't gonna happen. And I also fail at weekly trips to the farmer's market, for some reason; even though ours is small, it overwhelms me, because I feel bad if I buy from this person, but not that person who is selling the same thing, but rotating seems too complicated, and I always buy too much, and without any real plan. Somehow it just seems easier (and more fun!) to get a box where I won't know exactly what I'm getting, but that's what I'll have. IDEK. *g*
Anyway, this one is from a veg/goat/sheep farm, that does a tunnel farm over the winter that provides greens, spinach, lettuces, arugala, swiss chard, things of that sort, as well as eggs, goat milk and cheese (possibly yogurt and feta), and lamb, if you buy a larger portion. And if I get on for fall/winter, maybe I'll be able to do their spring/summer one, if they will deliver here. It looks like coming here is a new thing for them, so cross your fingers for me. Maybe I can do away with the severe CSA envy I have when I read posts from you guys about them.
And yeah... I don't know if this exactly fits under the concept of fiscal responsibility, but it's something I really want to do, and really want to support. I'm already thinking that even if I don't get on their list, it may kick me into being more diligent about our local farmer's market, which continues during the fall/winter in a smaller way.
So... yeah. I'm fine. We're all fine here, now. How are you?
tzikeh: I'm late getting up, so you may have seen this already this morning, but it might make you feel happy if you haven't - it's panthers and cheetahs and lions and tigers and pumas VERSUS PUMPKINS.
later:
tzikeh: AHAHAHAH - from Metaquotes "Shorter Narnia: JESUS CHRIST IS A LION GET IN THE WARDROBE"
xenacryst: HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. SO TRUE!
elyn: well. He's not a *safe* lion. *g*
* elyn wonders if he'd like a pumpkin.
tzikeh: omg. OMG!!! PUMPKIN FOR ASLAN
Lydia: ahahahahahahaha
xenacryst: sjghasd;fjgh;sdfklahgjskl;djgkl;sdajfkl;s
tzikeh: YES!
Lydia: Pumpkin for Aslan is totally a Christian rock group I would listen to.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
A young boy meets his very first gay married couple.
I was grinning ALL OVER MY FACE by the time it ended!
(ETA:
sanj reports: "And don't read the comments. Don't EVER read the comments." I'm happy to say it didn't even occur to me. Clearly my instincts for self and serenity-preservation are getting stronger.)And... nope, that's it for now.
Well, I'd heard of it, since "gaaaaay!" was a common schoolyard insult, but I had no idea it was, y'know, something that really happened. Parents, let this be a lesson--explain these things to your kids before the telepathic white horses do. -- UrsalaV, explaining she'd learned about homosexuality from reading Mercedes Lackey.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
Oh, cats.
lys: so. the stray black cat was wandering around the yard today. i called her, and she actually started walking back towards me, so I put out some food. but. it's friday the 13th. and she's a black cat. Is this good luck or bad?!
xenacryst: Are you a witch?
*elyn cracks up
elyn: shouldn't that be, "Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?"
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
elke_tanzer has been tracking the pseudonym issues with Google+, and she's posted a link to a blog post by someone (Wagner James) who talked to Katie Watson, Senior Manager of Global Communications & Public Affairs at Google. Going by this interview, I'm not Google+'s target audience, because the name by which I am almost exclusively known online isn't my "real" name. I probably should have taken a cue from XKCD: "What is it?" "Not Facebook!" "What's it like?" "Facebook!"Many of you have family and non-fannish friends on FB and have an active life there to connect with them. It may well be that some of my family are on FB, but if they are, I don't know about it, and while my dislike/resistance to FB may well be uninformed and irrational, nothing yet has made me want to try it out.
Now, as many of you know, I do actually have a Google+ account set up. It was an impulse, and not really directed by anything other than "Ooh! Shiny button! Closed system that OPENED FOR ME QUICK MUST JOIN." I was in a rush, late for work, and impulsively clicked the button. *g* And I've poked a bit, read some entries, and... I really like the way the circles work, and so far, that's about it. I'm barely posting here; I'm not sure why I need another place to not post, and fritter away time on a lot of stuff that leaves me kind of head-spinny and dazed.
I don't actually want someplace where I'm required to have my "real" name as my primary name. The subtext for me is that anyplace that I'm not using my legal name is not "real," and hence not valued, not important, and Google+ is for real, IMPORTANT things! Making connections with REAL people! (Note: this is not intended as commentary on or reflection of people for whom FB is valued and valuable, and/or for whom Google+ looks like a better alternative for FB for your legal name-based activities, truly).
Ya'll are real enough for me, I think. I may not yet delete my account, but unless there's a real reversal, I'm seriously going to consider it. And cheers to all you more suspicious, less impulsive types who hadn't succumbed. *g*
Since I let go of reality, I have so many more options! -Lily Tomlin
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
sherrold, a longtime fan and vidder, part of the Media Cannibals and Clucking Belles vidding groups. If you've been reading her journal, you know that she's been fighting cancer for a while, and right now, the news isn't good.movies_michelle has an update here, and she'll provide info if you want to send a card or flowers, on making donations to Equal Rights Washington in Sandy's name, and other suggestions that don't cost anything.Another fan,
talking_sock, is going to be going to try and see her this weekend, and is willing to print out notes for Sandy, if you get them to her today. Information is here.Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. --Anais Nin
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
I'm still wondering when the dancers get the info on which dances and choreographers, and how long they have to actually practice.
For my money, these Jedi are MEN. They're TOUGH. They kick ass. They either wear force-generated codpieces, or go commando. --Merry Lynne (Qui-Gon, have you seen my Jabba the Hutt Underoos?)
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
Here's a link to the first week, the second week, and the third week.
I've enjoyed the judge interviews, but I haven't watched the dancer interviews.
He was put on earth, it seems, not merely to provide an anodyne to sorrow and an antidote to loss...but to trouble our rest, to remind us that all is not well, that neither the center nor the perimeter can hold, that things are not what they seem to be, that masquerade and reality may well be interchangeable, that love is frail, life transient, faith unstable.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
I had a lazy 4th of July weekend, reading Doonesbury, Get Fuzzy compilations, and Jonathan Kellerman's latest, and watching the Sarah Jane Adventures, which I'll finish tonight, I hope. I'd seen s1 already, and I thought I'd seen s2, but apparently not. It's really stirring up my desire to go back and watch the earlier Doctors. I've seen some of the extant First Doctor, most of Four, at least some of Five, and Eight onwards, but our PBS station never showed the earlier ones or Six and Seven, to my knowledge, so there's so much to watch!
I have tried Magnum chocolate bars, much to both my enjoyment and my gluttony, and I think I'm better buying them individually, even if it costs more. Ahem.
( So You Think You Can Dance )
Fortunately, I have a well-spring of apathy that I've already started to tap. If I can't be a control freak, I'm going to not give a rat's ass. -renenet
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
First thought upon reading this: I wonder how many people immediately went to test this when they read it.
First action: I must test this.
First test: spark plug=>cylinder head=>Internal combustion engine=>Engine=>Machine=>Machine (Mechanical)=>Mechanical system=>Power (physics)=>Physics=>Natural Science=>Science=>Knowledge=>Fact=>Infor
Kristin Chenoweth=>musical theater=>theatre=>fine art=>art form=>senses=>physiological=>science=>Kn
My Little Pony=>ponies=>horse=>extant=>biology=>na
Professional wrestling=>spectacle=>Middle English=>history of the English language=>English=>West Germanic language=>Germanic=>Indo-European=>langu
THIS IS AWESOME. It's like, proof of the idea that philosophy is the place where everything converges! If you go far enough in anything, you hit philosophy. hee hee hee.
Oh SURE it's all about movement from the most specific to the most general, pfft. That's no fun. hee.
The pro wrestling sequence is my favorite. Now the trick is going to be keeping myself from doing this every time I look something up on wiki...
Now that I'm here, five things about me right now:
1) I'm rereading Doonesbury from the beginning. Many, many years ago, before I had online access, our local paper first moved Doonesbury to the op ed page; I can't remember which particular storyline made them suddenly realize OMG IT'S POLITICAL, but I started to lose track of it at that point. Hey, I was very young, I barely read the paper except for the comics, and at that point even the local paper seemed fairly substantial. Now I'm decades behind any real familiarity with it, and it's fascinating to read through the 70s at this point and remember what was going on. Wikipedia gets heavy usage here, as well, to remind myself of the people and events -- and find out that the Pentagon Papers were declassified and publicly released in June 2011. Huh. loses time linking through wiki from the papers... (mind you, as you do more you recognize the terms that inevitably lead to philosophy (...hee), and it goes faster)
2) It's hot and dry in my corner of the forest, and did I mention hot? I mowed my lawn very short last weekend, and scalped all the green off it, leaving dirt and dried out plants. The good part is that this means I may not have to mow again any time soon. We had somewhere between 8 to 12 days over 100F in June; this does not bode well for the summer.
3) I've almost finished the complete Honor Harrington series by David Weber, which I thoroughly enjoy, as long as I squint past his perceived politics. I find it funny and yet not at all odd that a friend had this vague feeling Weber was British, although he was born in Cleveland.
4) I'm doing some research prepatory to trying to recommence some fan writing; it's slooooooow going, but it's going.
5) I've lost 30 lbs in the last year, most of it since February. It's both strangely easy and almost impossible. If I could change one thing to make it easier, I'd somehow stop the generous woman in my office from keeping a jar of cheap chocolate-based candy on her desk at all times. *kof* There's this disconnect in my brain between knowing that I'm not even all that crazy about the types of candy she stocks, and not eating them. *shakes head* I'm on Weight Watchers, but I'm actually trying to keep my focus on getting a grip on portion sizes, rather than weight loss as such. However, what I've done so far has reduced the bad numbers in my annual blood work in ways that make my doctor happy.
Yeah, my life is... nicely non-dramatic and serene. *g* Someone fondly mocked me after the last post I made where I said I didn't really have anything to say, then went on to talk a lot. But it's true! I mean, I can always talk up a wild streak, burble on about nothing in particular. But that's a far different thing, for me, than actually having anything to say.
...and that's where we hit philosophy, again.
Our brains have just one scale, and we resize our experiences to fit (spend enough time with any of them and you'll become a snobby connoisseur). --xkcd.com/915
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
Also, it led to a VERY NICE DREAM which guest starred Travis Wall, and. Let's just say I woke up with a goofy smile. *g* Man, he's adorable. He was in his own season, but now that he's really growing into believing what a fabulous choreographer he is? hummina.
I may have mainlined s1-2 in the last 2-3 weeks. I'd watched s1 before, but couldn't remember if I'd gotten through all of it. By the time I realized that I had, and gotten most, if not all, the way through s2, too, I was committed, so I just watched all the way through again. *g* I'm now partway through the auditions for s3, and very much looking forward to seeing some of the people I've seen as All Stars show up. And then s4, and Twitch! \o/ I've managed to stay relatively unspoiled for who wins (although I think I know who wins s3), which is awesome.
And after I make it through s5, I'll still have the UK, Canadian, and Australian versions, not to mention others, if I can find eps, where I can appreciate the dance, even if I can't understand the language...
Scott: Hey, no, just me -- someone needs to keep watch!
Stiles: How come I'm always the guy keeping watch?
Scott: Because there's only two of us!
Stiles: Okay. Why's it starting to feel like you're Batman and I'm Robin? I don't wanna be Robin all the time!
Scott: ...Nobody's Batman and Robin any of the time.
Stiles: Wha-- Not even some of the time?
Teen Wolf
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
movies_michelle to a new poster for Conan, when I see it.They're remaking The Thin Man.
Rob Marshall is directing, which, I don't really have any reaction to that.
The part of Nick Charles, originally played by William Powell will be played by... Johnny Depp.
OMG NO NO DEPP NO *cries*
I don't even want to know who they think can play Nora, originally played by the fabulous Myrna Loy.
Why must news almost always be so painful?
"Wasn't Max Headroom originally a commercial?"
"I have no idea. Once again the vast lacuna in my pop culture knowledge manifests itself."
"Do you know why I love you and why you get a free pass on the pop culture knowledge thing?"
"Because I use words like "lacuna" to describe how dumb I am?"
"Yes."
"I thought so." --renenet and here's luck
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
The tastes blend really well, both recipes using cumin/cumin seed, ginger, and garlic. I also used jalapenos in both, not having any other green chilis (and I used jarred jalapenos, as I keep a giant bottle of them in my fridge.)
Between this and the unstuffed zucchini from Saturday, I have meals for lunch and dinner for the whole week. Oh, and some of the soup from last Wednesday, which I'll have with the zucchini. \o/
Last night we watched Summer Wars and Despicable Me, both of which had AWESOME old women, and squid. It was the unintended theme. I loved them both! Summer Wars had a lovely, complicated family, and felt very Japanese with the ongoing, intertwined baseball championship. *g* And Despicable Me was funny and charming and clever, and Edith is AWESOME.
On the other hand, Case 39 was a bit dull and clichéd, although it was a nostalgic throwback to earlier "bad seed" movies. And it had Ian McShane and Bradley Cooper, and weirdly, it's the first time I remember not being continually annoyed by Renée Zellweger. And I do like Jodelle Ferland, who played the evil child, although it made me wish again that Kingdom Hospital had gotten a longer run. I really need to finish watching the original of that.
In other news, I'm reading Kitchen House, by Kathleen Grissom. If it weren't what my book club is reading this month, I probably wouldn't finish. Of course, if it weren't what my book club is reading this month, I would never have even picked it up. It's the story of an Irish girl in the late 18th-early 19th whose parents die on the voyage to America, so the ship captain takes her off home as an indentured servant. I think it's supposed to give an "outside" view of black-white relations on a slave plantation, but it's a joyless, grim, no-style story of an almost entirely passive girl growing to woman who can't see that although she thinks she thinks of herself as the equal of the slaves she spends most of her time with, she wasn't to start with and only becomes less so, and is so self-involved and self-pitying that I don't really feel anything for her. It's a modern soap opera with a plantation setting, only there's so much telling over showing that it's not even melodramatically interesting.
It's like reading a classic Russian novel without the style and rich description and interesting characters. /o\ It was suggested by a woman who seems to have thought it was fantastic, and I fully expect most of the rest of the club to agree. I anticipate terms like "heartbreaking" and "tragic" and their ilk.
But hey! I started going because I wanted to read things I wouldn't normally pick up. Yay?
I'm an evil step-kitty mom. I let my babies run out of food this morning. This afternoon I plan to empty their pockets of rocks and bread and lead them out into the forest. Either that or go buy food. --Misha
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
The Wichita ticket is now up to $458, and while the OKC ticket had dropped down to around $300, both OKC and Tulsa are now up to nearly $400. \o/ Of course, if by some miracle prices drop even lower than what I paid, I will be cursing, but it's still a really good price.
So, apparently there was a devastating freeze in central Mexico in early February, following a Florida freeze, which is the explanation for why I can't buy eggplant. It damaged other crops, but was particularly bad for eggplant, which are currently scarce and/or very expensive, and imported from Holland, among other places. I await the California harvest! Meanwhile, tonight I serve not-stuffed zucchini, instead of eggplant parmigiana. It's supposed to be stuffed zucchini, but they only had wee zucchinis, so I'm just going to shred it all and do a bake.
I wanna draw a picture of it. I think it'll look kind of like one of those Trek disasters when the transporter isn't working quite right... --Dail, upon reading a particularly awkward bit of prose
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
While I was thinking about what kind I wanted to bring, I saw a recipe for a sweet potato&carrot soup, which sounded really good. Then I thought... my mother fairly often made potato&leek soup for one of the weeks; while I'd never seen a sweet potato&leek soup, I thought, why not? So I actually found a recipe for sweet potato&leek, and then I merged the two recipes into sweet potato&carrot&leek soup. It has ginger and garlic, and coconut milk. AND OMG IS IT GOOD.
( Recipe under the cut )
And in another awesome note, I did my own taxes again for the first time since taking over VividCon. Let's hope I don't get audited! \o/
My *god,* it is dead around here, dead, dead, deadity dead. If this place were a character in Highlander, it'd have its own montage, that's how dead it is. --Kat Allison
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
Dear Ms. Ross,
Thank you for your email concerning the Hunt's Manwich ad.
Our intent wasn't to offend and we apologize. The ads were pulled down as soon as we became aware of them.
Your comments are extremely valuable, and they help us make the food you love even better.
Thanks again for your feedback. We're listening!
I haven't looked to confirm this, but I do kind of wonder what "as soon as we became aware" means, exactly. It's possible the subsidiary company developed the ad campaign, and the overall company only exerted itself when there were complaints, I dunno. If so, good for them.
The wolf slunk gratefully back into the trees and hyperventilated quietly, and the little red riding wolverine skipped merrily through the woods to her grandmother's house and they ate assorted rodents* and watched cartoons and baked cookies happily ever after.
*Pepperidge Farms' Mixed Rodent Party Assortment, to be precise, a pretty good value for the money, although everybody always picks through and eats the gerbils first. --UrsulaV, Little Red Riding Wolverine
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
Manwich Reminds Customers: Musical-Loving Queers Do Not Eat Our Product
Because there is only one definition of how to be a man, sloppy joe sandwich sauce maker Manwich, made by ConAgra Foods, Inc. and Hunt's, is following the Guinness beer lessons in advertising: depict any man who doesn't fit a rigid definition of dudeness as some nelly queen who deserves to be slapped.... this ad literally has a man who enjoys musicals getting beat up for it
The embedded video of the ad has the image of a half-naked, rather hairy man holding a MANwich -- I assumed, before I watched, that he was the MANly man, but no, he's the guy who enjoys musicals. Part of my brain is like, "Well, at least they didn't go with a stereotypically fey man," while another part retorts, "No, they clearly understand that any man may be dangerously "unmanly" and therefore undeserving of their OH SO MANLY SLOPPY JOE."
He's comparing something to a musical he saw, "the way those guys dance, and the lead's voice was like a, like a hug! And don't even get me started on the costumes; the light, it hits the sequins--" At which point a hand comes out from off to the side and slaps the guy's manwich into his face, and the announcer says, all tough guy, "It's called a MANwich!" I don't know that I'd go so far as Queerty and say he "gets beat up," but that's splitting hairs; the entire commercial makes my skin crawl with the message it sends.
Contact info for Con Agra/Hunts can be found here.
Gene Hunt: I think you've forgotten who you're talking to.
Sam Tyler: An overweight, over-the-hill, nicotine-stained, borderline alcoholic homophobe, with a superiority complex -- and an unhealthy obsession with male bonding.
Gene Hunt: You make that sound like a bad thing.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
One Big Happy Family, edited by Rebecca Walker (daughter of Alice Walker). From the cover: 18 writers talk about polyamory, open adoption, mixed marriage, househusbandry, single motherhood, and other realities of truly modern love.
Essayists include:
And then We Were Poly, Jenny Block
Woman UP, asha bandele
The Enemy Within, Dan Savage
Foreign Relations, Suzanne Kamata
Counting on Cousins, Amy Anderson
The Look, ZZ Packer
Like Family, Min Jin Lee
Daddy Donorin, Antonio Caya
Two Red Lines, Susan McKinney de Ortega
My First Husband, Liza Monroy
Home Alone Together, Neal Pollack
Love, Money, and the Unmarried Couple, Judith Levine
Unassisted, Sasha Hom
Sharing Madison, Dawn Friedman
Half the Work, All the Fun, Marc and Amy Vachon
How Homeschooling Made Our Family More of What We Wanted it to Be, Meredith Maran
This Old House, Rebecca Barry
( From the introduction: )
Know you've been working on the computer too much when you look up and think "Sweet lord - real life has awesome resolution" ...and then you try to rightclick save with your brain. --confutatis
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
Instead, I realized that I could open text files in Irfan, the cheap free image viewer I use, and thus page endlessly through the really fucking long list of sigs that I've collected. So now it's an hour and a half later, and I quote for you five sigs that made me laugh out loud, sitting alone in my living room. Possibly this is because I should have already gone to bed. *g* Night!
tzikeh: Killa and I are going to stand in the hallways at VividCon wearing straw boater hats, and do a vaudeville act called "Aspect Ratio and the Bitrate".
sisabet: by the end of the con I will be writing Aspect Ratio/Bitrate buddy fic, with loads of subtext and fighting of crime. sometimes AR just goes all monosyllabic and internal and Bitrate just totally watches out for AR during those times. sometimes AR gets stretched and pulled and fucked up all over. sometimes Bitrate throws everything outta whack just to *save* AR from more pain. it is truly beautiful.
tzikeh: you live in a very strange world of your own making.
sisabet: Tiny Vidding Terms Caring About Each Other.
***
Spreading his own legs for better movement, he started grinding a fully erect cock against Lupin's thigh. It barely missed Remus's own dick, and the boy had to pull Snape even closer for their chanticleers to meet.
Bas: okay, so there's four people and a chicken in that sex scene.
elyn: Nothing like chicken frottage...
LJV: TWO chickens.
Bas: I missed that. I think it was self-protection.
***
Dean licks his bottom lip, eyes closed, eyelashes brushing his check, which is a universal invitation.
elynross: Is that his way of saying "I will pay you for sex"?
***
so. it's going to be *this* sort of day. I made a new pot of coffee, mopped the kitchen...and now can't get to the coffee. --Lum
***
He took Ichigo hungrily into his mouth, because the long dick, dusted at the base with orange hair that curved slightly to the right was a seemingly delectable prize.
My very first thought was that I don't think I've ever seen a penis with a comb-over. --movies_michelle, on the importance of a good beta
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
You know the worst thing about not posting? I don't get to use my sigs. So here's my three latest.
I was all excited 'cause by yesterday it was looking like I might be able to get my car off the property to the main roads again soon. And then it snowed again last night. Motherfucker. It's getting to kind of be like the Donner party. If the Donner party had central heating, hot pockets in the freezer instead of babies, and satellite television. -fan_eunice, trapped by the snows of winter 2011
i wish my computer could vid for me. even if it was the equivalent of monkeys typing shakespeare. and i firmly believe that skynet could be distracted from TOTAL WORLD DOMINATION by teaching it to vid. --par avion
Even in winter, the cold is not always bitter, and not every day is cruel. --Jim Butcher, Changes
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
I had a House dream the other night. House and Wilson were in a hallway arguing about something, and Wilson made a suggestion, and House, in a voice that implied he hadn't heard anything as stupid as that since, well, the last episode, said "Oh that's just brilliant, I could kiss you," and then he did, a very short, hard, annoyed, theatrical kiss, and walked away, and Wilson just stood there, looking after him, thinking that was probably the only time House would ever kiss him and if he could only have one kiss, that would not have been the one he'd have chosen, and it was all terribly tragic, or possibly very funny, and then I woke up and my hair had turned grey in the night and I could write nothing but run-on sentences for the rest of my life. --torch
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
So here I share a few videos that give me joy, all of Kurt Browning ice skating routines.
( Three Kurt Browning Routines )
Happiness is often presented as being very dull but, he thought, lying awake, that is because dull people are sometimes very happy and intelligent people can and do go around making themselves and everyone else miserable. He had never found happiness dull. It always seemed more exciting than any other thing and capable of as great intensity as sorrow to those people who were capable of having it. --Ernest Hemingway, Islands in the Stream
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
( Criminal Minds )
( Human Target )
( NCIS: LA )
I have the feeling I'm forgetting another show that did some mixing up of its formula, but I can't think of it. Lie to Me eliminated Agent Reynolds, and while I liked him and what he added, I don't think his absence really changes the show dynamic, as such (just the visual, dammit!). And I'm looking forward to seeing him on Torchwood! Now, if they'd just put Martha in charge of it....
Earlier this afternoon, four guys in an SUV pulled up on the side street my office faces. Two of them got out of the car, one on each side of the street, and they proceeded to throw a football back and forth for about five minutes. Then they got back in the SUV, and they all drove away.
I guess when you have to play ball, you have to play ball. --Christy
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
It's looking like a year of miscommunication and electronics whackiness! My lovely little 1T FreeAgent Go external HD has suddenly become persona non grata with both the home and work computers. Both will flash a popup to let me know the drive has been connected, but they then refuse to believe it exists, so I can't access any of my items on the drive. Actually, the only thing that thinks the drive exists and is accessible is the SeaTools software provided by SeaGate to diagnose drive problems. o.O I'm currently working with support, but it means the 200G or so of shows I had stored up are inaccessible... I mean, I can replace them, but what a PITA. And the home computer continues its slow (sometimes not so) decline into whackiness, starting with showing me the "battery shows low voltage" warnings that it had when brand new (then was due to a known issue with some internal part not being seated firmly), inability to restore to a previous restore point, and general signs of aging.
I watched the first of a new series of BBC movies last night (3 filmed so far, looks like), Zen, starring Rufus Sewell as Italian (okay, Venetian, but) police officer Aurelio Zen. Lots of nice shots of Rome and various spots in the Italian countryside, and Sewell is a detective with a reputation for scrupulous honesty and integrity on a police force not generally known for same. I liked it, although I find it very distracting that the only people who sound even the slightest bit Italian are his mother and new girlfriend. Everyone else is obviously British, but I think I'm supposed to think of them as Italian. Ministers and their staff, the police force, the criminals -- all the criminals have these very familiar British accents, and it's disconcerting. Of course, when I thought about it I realized it would be equally peculiar for them all to be speaking English with Italian accents, but at least they'd sound foreign! er. Um. Not British!
Sewell is very easy on the eyes, as usual, at least, and watching his budding relationship with Tania is fun.
And I thought there was something else, but it completely escapes me right now. But look! Media content ftw! \o/
Also, I resemble this post.
"Day four. Missed call. That zen is a wily one, but we'll track it down. Think I killed a fan today." --Laura Shapiro, on putting together a zen posse
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
( Sitting in the dark )
So then I came home and got a bit closer to relinquishing ALL the authority in VVC. Interestingly, perhaps scarily, it was easier to get the names changed with the legal rep (call, say, "I need to do this," without confirming who I was, and give them the info. As
lydiabell says, it sounds like a Leverage setup) than it will be with Paypal, who very sternly says they do NOT allow accounts to be transferred!!! But you can change the name of the contact person, as long as you fax in some documentation. I remember that being the most complicated part of the original transaction with astolat, as well. OMG FREEDOM. *kof* At least my gleeful face isn't as scary or as huge as
astolat's, renenet! And I promise to try not to have a ginormous, face-splitting grin on my face every time I see you in August... probably. I don't think astolat actually intended to do that...The sad reality of the story, which gives further emotional weight to this series, is that the hero has a split personality problem coupled with a phobia of touching other people, which is however inevitable and sends him into a killing frenzy complete with obligatory visions, which ultimately render him immobile and blind, thus delivering a morality tale for the new age. --Dead Zone, described by Stranger 9 on strangefandoms from watching the vid "A Day in the Life"
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
It's been an odd year for me, fannishly. Between VividCon and Yuletide, I've been extremely busy fannishly, while personally I've barely been involved at all. I haven't written anything since last Yuletide, and I've barely read any fanfiction or watched any vids. I think I'm hoping that will change this next year; for the first time in nearly ten years, I won't start the year out working on VVC, and for the first time in six? years, I won't be jumping directly from Yuletide to VividCon. \o/ It's a fabulous, wonderful, freeing feeling. I keep waiting for it to feel strange, or for an emotional letdown; let's face it, in the normal scheme of things there's very little I like more than being a center of attention. *g* However, I think the last few years have helped me grow past that, and I'm mostly trying not to feel too gleeful. *kof*
SEKRIT REVEAL: I ran yuletide!*
So, Yuletide 2010 happened! The period between the first deadline and the final author reveal is always kind of a blur for me. As usual, in spite of best intentions, I've been staying up past 2am and not getting up until after 10am, and come Monday morning I am DED DED DED. *weeps*
However, it was very nearly an entirely successful Yuletide, with only small moments of upset and chaos, and how would we know it was Yuletide, otherwise? I hear there was grinching going on around and about, but I successfully avoided most of it, post-reveal. As always, I wish I could guarantee that everyone's writer was responsible and committed (not referring to any who had to default early, mind you), and everyone's recipient was gracious and generous, but there's a reason
wickedwords gave me the control freak bumper sticker I still have on my car....My own personal Yuletide was amazing, I have to say! I received three, THREE Yuletide stories, and two Yuletide Madness treats! \o/ And every one was a gem, in my book.
(Richard Jury - Martha Grimes), Richard Jury/Melrose Plant
This is a mystery series set in England, written by an American, and starring two men who perfectly fit my slashy "type." One is morose, principled, a deep thinker who expects too much of himself, and the other is brilliant, whimsical, snarky, and worries about the first one. And I never expected to get this story! RileyC did a wonderful job of capturing them both, playing them off each other, and leading them to a mutual comfort that just delighted me. With a Lou Reed soundtrack! And I see now she has other Grimes stories that I'll get to read. \o/
And here Melrose clasped his hand, searching his face. “I often wonder what happiness would look like on you.”
Jury smiled, at Melrose in the cap, at … he wasn't even sure. “Let me know if you find out.”
“Oh, I rather think you'll be there when it happens.”
(Jeremiah) Markus Alexander/Jeremiah
This is a cracky bit of crack wherein in Jeremiah's world, there are werewolves. I KNOW. hee. It gives a different spin on Markus and Jeremiah, and where Markus goes when he disappears in the mountain, and lets Jeremiah be just as stubborn and in your face and loyal as he always is. <3
And yet the fairy tale doesn't stop, because he soon realizes that Thunder Mountain holds secrets, and the uncrowned king of the mountain holds most of them. Markus is quiet and seems open, but he's like a garden that looks real until you find out it's a painting over a brick wall.
(The Wire)
I didn't request The Wire this year and I got a story ANYWAY (two, if you see below!). This is shared with starseverywhere, and I'm honored to be able to have part of it. Avon! Kima and Bunk together! Carver being awesome, Dukie being tragic, and always the worms in the end. Out with the old, in with the new, and it all stays the same. Not an entirely happy read, but it captures the show for me in a very real way.
He felt like a Dress Me Up Police Doll being played with by a pack of ridiculous politicians who were trying to be Machiavellian. This was such a fine use of his time too. But it would get him the money for those extra hours for his men.
(The Wire) D'Angelo
zeldadestry held on to this for an entire year so she could post it for me! \o/ And it's a perfect drabble, both in 100-word count, and in the way it captures the moment and points to so much more. D'Angelo goes from planning to take over the world to stark reality in the span of a few sentences, and it breaks my heart. <3
He just needs one good idea, an invention or innovation, something everybody’s gonna want or need. Someday he’ll have a business empire and a penthouse in Tribeca, live near Jay-Z and shit.
(Feminist Hulk (Twitter), Batman - Fandom, Old Spice Guy)
Look at that list of fandoms. Now back at me. This is the treat your treat would look like, if you were me! BATMAN TWEETING. Albert being patient and longsuffering! The Old Spice Guy being awesome. And Feminist Hulk! And as I told mjules, I understood Twitter better when I was done than I did before. *g*
OldSpice @thegoddamnbatman What does feminism smell like? Here's a hint: It smells like integrity carved out of stone and molded into kevlar. Covered with spikes. And flowers.
And then there's what I wrote, which isn't what I set out to write. When I got my assignment, I started plotting and planning, and yet for whatever reason, I was too stressed and panicky to let anything congeal. Last year I'd had a real fear I might completely default, and I didn't want to do that again this year, even though I knew circumstances were different, so I let it go back into the system. Then this prompt came along, in a fandom I'd been thinking about writing in for years, and suddenly there was a story in my head. I haven't had that happen in a long time, a couple of years at least, and it felt so good. So thanks to stuffwelike for giving me the opportunity, to Dorinda and torch for helping me make it better, and to mary for saying nice things. *g*
The Night of the Amorous Thespian for stuffwelike
(Wild Wild West (TV)) Artemus Gordon/James West
Artie continued, and Jim listened and both better understood Hamlet's state of mind, and realized that Artie was a better actor than Jim had ever realized. He could hear the temptation of death in Artie's voice, the voice of a man more alive and in love with life than anyone Jim had ever known. Artie currently spent that life by Jim's side, opposing that "sea of troubles," but for the first time Jim wondered what sacrifice Artie had made, leaving the stage so completely. The thought was an uncomfortable one.
*ETA: I should note that of course, I had help, including my partner in crime who had to go OTT by running yuletide and having a baby in the middle, while getting her story in early. And all praise to the AO3 and the teams of wranglers (you'll get info earlier next year, I promise!) and AO3 support and coders, who are magnificent). I almost don't remember what it was like doing it without you guys, THANK GOD.
OldSpice @thegoddamnbatman What does feminism smell like? Here's a hint: It smells like integrity carved out of stone and molded into kevlar. Covered with spikes. And flowers. @FeministHulk
3 minutes ago via FierceTweet
--from Feminism First Thing In the Morning
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
* elyn nods
tzikeh: I'd be like, yeah, I'll land on my head and be paralyzed on Day One. Thanks.
* elyn grins.
elyn: yeah, I fell skating when I was around 7-8, turned my shoulder into hamburger. I've *never* been very body risking.
* elyn never did learn to skate.
tzikeh: Ice or roller?
elyn: roller.
Lum: I used to rollerskate all the time! What happened to me!? LOL CSI NY has a lot of victims who fall or are thrown off of skyscrapers (reference back to previous convo about procedurals)
* Lydia was listening to a podcast a while back about cats falling from INSANELY high stories and walking away
Lydia: in fact, they tend to do better if they fall from more than, I think, 9 stories than if they fall from between 5 and 9
tzikeh: yes, they need the .. one second or whatever, to rotate around and land on their feet
Lydia: it wasn't that - they figured out that after 9 stories, the cat reaches terminal velocity
tzikeh: !!
Lydia: and then when they don't feel the acceleration anymore, they relax
tzikeh: omg that's... kind of awesome.
Lydia: right?
Lum: but I'm not throwing a cat off the empire state building no matter what you say!
tzikeh: NO
tzikeh: but
tzikeh: you might try to get tiny roller skates....
House did not apologize in the way that other people did. There were never cards or candy or even the oh-so-direct "I'm sorry," and James was okay with that. Instead, House apologized like a cat who left a present of a dead bird in your bed, purred at you while you petted him, then took a swipe at your arm when he was tired of it and ready to be fed. --movies_michelle, in her Utterly Pointless House Story.
First off, even though my requests this year all tend towards slash, I will be genuinely happy with any story that you write me, because most of all, I want you to enjoy yourself. I truly believe that optional details are optional! And for any of these pairs of guys, what I love about them is what I see in the source, all the tensions and intimacies and competence and stubbornness and humor and caring about each other, even though sometimes they don't even seem to like each other very much.
( And here are the specific requests )
That's not even musical theatre gay...or flamingly gay... That's...
That's *jazz hands* gay!
(Image borrowed from http://lunaris.fangirlz.net/storage/IVo
My ambivalence isn't about voting; I strongly believe in voting, and the only reason I ever don't vote is... I no longer have my mother to ask me if I voted when I get home, so sometimes I forget. *kof*
I'm ambivalent because I seldom feel that my voting in Oklahoma makes much difference (except to me, of course!), and this year in particular, I'm feeling pretty grim about the outcomes. We have a lot of meaningless (nay, ridiculous)-to-offensive state questions up for a vote (English as the state language is up for a vote again, and two mutually contradictory statements on education funding, IIRC -- oh, and we're voting to see whether there should be a constitutional amendment outlawing sharia as a source of law in Oklahoma.) I roughly predict that the results of the questions will be the exact opposite of how I voted.
As for our politicians... Well, I can say that whatever the outcome, Oklahoma will have its first female governor. However, given that as far as I can tell, the only real difference between the Democrat and the Republican is that the Democrat has to specifically say that she's not a liberal and that she is pro-life?
Yeah, ambivalent is putting it mildly.
In other news, I have my first cold of the season, and I'm trying to keep it from getting into my chest, where Bad Things Happen. I was kind of horrified at the amount of sick leave I had to take last year, and I'd like not to repeat that. And exercise-wise, I'm restricted to the recumbent bike for a while, as I'm having some heel pain that is probably a case of plantar fasciitis. I'm doing stretches, I have good arch support/shoes, and I'm hoping to not have to go to the doctor for that.
In TV news, Walking Dead is AWESOME. I can't wait for more installments, and I'm already feeling kind of whiny that it's only 6 episodes. I'm liking Detroit 1-8-7 more and more. It has a good mix of people, I think; at least half the primary cast is non-white, non-male. I'm hot and cold about a lot of other things.
( Cut for some TV viewing dissatisfaction )
I have been watching a lot of movies lately, particularly horror movies. Autopsy was spectacularly bad in the best way, with Robert Patrick as a kind of old skool mad scientist; Open Graves with Eliza Dushku, and Sean Bean in Silent Hill and The Dark, which are now so closely associated in my mind (for reasons beyond the Bean) that they almost work as strange remakes of each other. There were a number more movies, but they all kind of blur. However, I have achieved one goal with regards to horror movie series! A couple of years ago some channel did all the Halloween movies, so I'd seen those, but I had never seen a Jason movie. AMC helped me rectify that this Halloween.
( Friday the 13th movies, with some spoilers )
Next, I make sure I've seen all the Freddy movies. I think I stopped dating the boyfriend who really introduced me to cheesy horror before they'd all come out...
One of the oldest human needs is having someone to wonder where you are when you don't come home at night. -Margaret Mead
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
I'm doing well! Had my 6-month checkup a week or so back, and the doctor said, "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it." My blood sugar whatever levels had dropped from 6.9 to 6.2 (7.0 is where they start talking diabetes & meds, apparently), another number (possibly cholesterol, but I don't remember that word, um) was down well below alarm levels, and my BP is back to pre-med levels at 130/80. So, yay! Of course, then I promptly went and over-indulged in a variety of things containing non-whole grains and fats, but that happens every now and then, you know?
I'm on my third week back at the gym, which I hope will continue to stick. I drag myself out of bed at 6am -- okay, no, the alarm goes off at that point, and the cats start to gather and poke, and if I'm lucky, I fall out of bed by 6:15a. I'm still not making it to the gym any earlier than 7:15a, but funnily enough this still puts me to work loads earlier than I've been getting in regularly for about... four years. *kof* Which means I'm home earlier! And this all means that if all I want to do in the evenings is lie about and watch TV, I can at least think, "Yes, but I've BEEN TO THE GYM TODAY." *g*
I still have a half-dozen fannish obligations (apart from Yuletide, whee!!!) that I have got to do, and yet can't seem to get going on. One has a future deadline, and will make life wretched if I don't meet it, so I'll get that one done. Soon. The others... some have past deadlines, and....*wince*
I seem to have misplaced any urge I ever had to write, which means I'm looking hesitantly at Yuletide for myself. If I was only capable of writing stories of close to 1000 words, I might not be as wary, but... *laughs hysterically*
I'm watching loads of TV this fall, and stockpiling more. The new shows I've given up on are Undercovers (sadly!) and Terriers, I think. I'm a little wistful about Outlaw's cancellation, but mostly because I wanted to like it a lot more than I did. Undercovers... They are v. pretty! I lwanted to really love it, but after about 4 eps, I have no sense of who these folks are, and it's just not working for me. Terriers I liked quite a bit more, but then I realized I wasn't looking forward to it, and that I don't want to watch these guys week after week walking a really wobbly moral line.
There seem to be more and more shows where the good guys...aren't, so much. Or they're "good," if by "good" we mean "better than the bad guys. Maybe." I like moral ambivalence...okay, maybe not quite as much as the next fangirl, but I liked it when heroes started being allowed to have some rough edges, some questionable areas. Now... it feels like that's the norm, and people who stand on principle are few and far between -- and when they do, their principles are much more flexible than mine...
*subtitle: Where Have All the Heroes Gone...
I brought home lights bells whistles; I brought home flowers and cow-covered socks, I brought home fairy tales with happy endings and true stories with ambiguous ones. --merricatk
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
I did want to point out to those who might be interested that today is the last day to register for Escapade for $100; on the 16th the price goes up to $125. Escapade is a long-running slash con in Ventura, CA, and I've kind of made a commitment to myself to not miss it again, as long as it goes on. The hotel is right on the beach, and close to good food, and I generally have a really good time hanging out with people, and maybe going to some programming. *g*
Last night I dreamed that my Dad had a career writing Firefly AU tie-in novels in which Mal and Zoe solved cozy mysteries. The main recurring villain was an evil chicken. --rachelmanija
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
( Please don't click if harm to animals is an issue for you )
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
I started trimming back some subscriptions, mostly on DW, pulling back to a much smaller number of people. In so doing, I realized that I just need to take a break entirely, as much as possible, which left things kind of betwixt and between. For the foreseeable future, I will neither be posting to my journals nor reading subscriptions on LJ or DW.
This has been building over a couple of years, honestly. I'm not "in" any fandoms at the moment, and haven't been for over a year. I haven't been reading fanfiction or watching vids for personal enjoyment -- I literally can't remember the last time I did either thing, or felt like writing, or had any kind of creative energy. This isn't entirely unrelated to current events, but it's not about those. I will be trying to keep up with those friends who are dealing with a lot of non-fannish stuff, because I worry, but I'm taking a personal break from everything else.
ETA: Comments screened and may or may not be answered.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
It sounds like Katara's awesomeness is altogether ignored/destroyed; the reviewer refers to her as "the girl sidekick and sort-love interest". And he says, "It's a weird dichotomy in this film - the film's villains are the only Asian people in the movie, but they're also the only ones who have any personality whatsoever."
( Favorite bits of the io9 review behind the cut. )
There are plenty of bad movies that know they're bad — but TLA is the first bad movie that knows that you are bad. You deserve your full share of the blame for this movie's existence. Airbender doesn't just poke fun at its entire genre, with its hyperactive mix of randomness and blandness - it actually MST3Ks its audience. Noah Ringer and that Civil War vampire from Twilight may seem at first to be sleepwalking through a rote adventure, but you realize at last that they're actually delivering a commentary track on your callowness as an audience. It's deadpan, but unmistakable nonetheless. Aang and Sokka become Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, staring out of the screen and bemusedly riffing on our feeble attempts to invest in this saga. --Charlie Jane Anders, io9 review of TLA
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
Thanks to
arduinna for the link. It's going on my "makes me happy" youtube playlist! *g*And just a short note for clarification on my update to my post on the Cornell study involving clitoral surgery. I hope this was clear, but I'm afraid it may not have been: I did not link to the post that appeared to largely defend the study in order to say, "Oh, well, that's okay then" or to imply my initial outrage about the practices were entirely misplaced. I've had much more successful interactions with the medical profession than many of my friends -- but I've also not had to rely on them in any major way for a very long time. I do not assume that any given medical professional, or any scientific types, have greater wisdom or understanding than anyone else, I don't think that good intentions make up for horrific results, and I do think that intersexuality remains an area of great discomfort and unfamiliarity for many, many people, leading to abuse, sometimes well-intentioned but wrong-headed intervention, and a great deal of pain and misery for those on the receiving end of both.
blacksquirrel, who teaches on intersex issues, had some very pertinent and thoughtful comments on my LJ post about this. I hope that she'll have the time and energy to discuss this at more length, and provide links. If she does, I'll definitely link to it."Does this shirt make me look fat?"
"No, your fat makes you look fat."
"Thank God, now I can keep it. I was afraid I'd have to buy a new one."
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
willow shared this link with me, where a fan who is a biologist has read through the original paper and gives more details and information about Congenital adrenal hyperplasia. ETA:
zulu gave me this link, where bell is collecting links.There are still aspects of the study that disturb me, but I don't know how much of that is my own baggage and lack of true information.
Even more disturbing is how quick I clearly am to leap to conclusions when they fit into my view of the world, and how quick I am to accept what others are saying, without looking further first to see for myself. Strangely, I somehow I don't fail to do this so much when what is reported seems preposterous to me.
I don't know that jumping to conclusions like this is that surprising, given what we do know goes on in the world, and the way we tend to rely on authority, but I like to think I'm better than that, you know? Ha ha ha. Oh, how I love those moments where lack of self-awareness and external revelation SLAM into each other in my head!
I'm not saying everything about the study and what goes on in it is squeaky clean -- I don't know, even at this point, because I haven't had the time to really look for myself. But this is a sharp reminder to do so, in future, before I jump into the fray. And if anyone knows more from either perspective (or other perspectives), I'd be glad to hear.
You know, I've decided I'm suspending my campaign. Im not sure what that means, but it sounds like I get a nap. --Melina
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
willow shared this link with me, where a fan who is a biologist has fully read through the original paper and gives more details, and information about Congenital adrenal hyperplasia. There are still aspects of the study that disturb me, but I don't know how much of that is my own baggage, and lack of true information. I feel like I've finally broken out of my not posting mode, only to have my journals become all fail, all the time. This one involves genital surgery on little girls in the United States, VERY TRIGGERY.
Shakesville article by Melissa McEwan.
cereta's post on the matter.If anybody looked at The Onion "op" piece yesterday and thought, "what's the big deal," THIS is the big deal. This is the kind of thing that misogyny and rape culture make acceptable to some.
And I really don't have words for how horrific this is to me. I've seen documentaries that explore what happens to children in our culture whose genitals are perceived as "abnormal" or "unnatural," mostly dealing with gender assignment surgery where parents, in consultation with doctors (or at the persusasion of doctors), do surgery on children born with either both sets of genitalia, or some perceived abnormality in their genitalia, to "make" them a single gender, usually well before the child themselves is old enough to really understand or consider how they feel or what they want. This kind of thing is terribly hard to watch, when they interview the adults who had this done to them, and you hear how it's impacted their lives, their sense of their own sexuality.
And this... these are little girls whose genitalia are normal. I think we think of this kind of mutilation as being reserved for cultures other than ours, places that some people consider less "civilized." It's amazing how "civilized" and "normal" we can make the mutilation and sexual violation of children.
Ending with a quote from the Shakesville article.
I could talk endlessly about why this is wrong and how it has been allowed to happen—because, fuck, this is just wrong on every conceivable level—but I simply don't have the will.
I will only say this: Human rights violations exactly like this are the inevitable consequence of a culture in which female bodies and/or bodies with variant presentations outside some arbitrary spectrum of "normal" are treated as property of someone other than the person within whose body resides the mind capable of making decisions regarding autonomy and consent, but denied that fundamental right. --Melissa McEwan
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
tzikeh for pointing out more story-related fail, involving an AU Bandom story for which the writer cast the lead singer of Cobra Starship, who is Jewish, as a Catholic priest, and then proceeded say "Hey, it's an AU, what does it matter," followed by "You're just being oversensitive because you're Jewish." sohotrightnow has actual commentary here.And it turns out that the J2 Haiti story wasn't the first of its kind; there was also a ST reboot RPS story, with Quinto and Pine, that was set in post-earthquake Haiti, IIRC, posted in May. Was there something in the water? IDEK. (I don't have a link handy for this one).
And speaking of the J2 story,
gatorgrrl did finally pull it...with a fauxpology that nestra deconstructs here.It's hard to get along with people. As much as you try to like them and accept them as individuals, it becomes difficult because they keep getting out of line and wasting your time. -Henry Rollins
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
Taking a cue from
tzikeh, I'm putting the full text of this under a cut, so as not to drive traffic to the original, from The Onion opinion page.Warning: the text below the cut tag is a horrifying and probably triggering attempt at "humor," and the cut tag text, which is the title of the "opinion," is just the beginning.
( I Tell Ya, Until I've Had My Morning Coffee, I Am Just A Rapist )
And hey, just to be fair, they included male and female victims! As
cereta says, that makes it FUNNY, see?xenacryst located the emails of the CEO (Steve Hannah at shannah@theonion.com), Chairman (David Schafer, davidkschafer@gmail.com), COO Mike McAvoy (mcavoy@theonion.com), and Senior VP Bill Wernecke (bwernecke@theonion.com), as well as the general editorial office email (editorial@theonion.com), and I've written this to them:Dear...
I am utterly at a loss as to how to address you in this circumstance.
I was just pointed to this column, [URL], entitled:
I Tell Ya, Until I've Had My Morning Coffee, I Am Just A Rapist
I cannot tell you how upset appalled I am that anyone associated with The Onion allowed this to be posted. There is nothing humorous about this. This is no way counts as clever, intelligent satire, and I can't even begin to imagine what the
author was *attempting* to satirize. It tarnishes the reputation of The Onion incredibly, and how anyone thought it was a good idea is beyond me.
Sexual assault is a huge and horrifying problem in the US and around the world, and using it in this juvenile and idiotic way will speak volumes to many of us as to the attitude and character of your organization.
I can only hope that The Onion will come to its senses, pull this extremely offensive and painfully insensitive piece of shit, and apologize to all its readers, particularly the survivors of sexual assault of any gender that you may have injured by such a vile attempt at "humor."
[my name]
Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it. -Mark Twain
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
And yes, I have finally pendulum swung, in the way I do, after my longest period yet barely posting, into posting overdrive. *facepalm* Don't worry, it never lasts. *g*
And I have B&J Crème Brûlée, which I find to be the ABSOLUTE BEST ice cream I can get around here. And usually I can't get it! I first had it a few years back, then it was not to be found anywhere around here. Wal-mart is apparently stocking it again, and... I may be treating it like something that could disappear at any moment. *kof*
Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come. --Matt Groening
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
My very great thanks and appreciation to the person who pointed out to me my ablist language (blind/blindly/blindness) in that post (and I will name them, if they want, but I didn't want to presume). The quote above retains the ablist term, highlighted, to highlight the perfection of my cluelessness, that the thing I needed to be reminded about is right there in the call to remind me?
I've been working over the last couple of years to eradicate ablist references to psychiatric conditions (and realizing as I do it quite how many colorful ways there are to say "this thing in my life is causing my head to want to explode,", and how hard it can be to come up with replacements that don't include some sense of "this thing is driving me crazy." However, apparently I'm still pretty clueless and unthinking about some idioms.
I have left the references to blindness in the other post, struck out and replaced with (I hope) non-ablist terms.
I'm sorry.
I wish for blankness, emptiness, the absence of words. But it is always words that speak inside my head, speak without ceasing. --M. Didier, Contrevisite
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
( Update on CM casting news )
A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday. -Alexander Pope
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
ETA: My very great thanks to the person who pointed out my ablist language. I have left the references to blindness, struck out and replaced with (I hope) non-ablist terms. When I said below, "sometimes you should just say "I'm sorry," and stop there," I didn't realize I'd get to practice that quite so soon.
I'm sorry.
I'm sure most of you have seen this, where
gatorgrrrl decided the "best idea ever" was to set an AU J2 romance in post-earthquake Haiti, where Dr. Jensen is just there to help, and Jared is the reporter who writes up a sensitive human interest piece about the good white doctor helping the natives. merryish pointed me to amazonziti's link collection here, which includes the story summary, and links to choice quotes. When I say I thought it couldn't get worse, it was bad enough when
amireal told me about the basic concept yesterday; I immediately thought of the J2 epic set in the Cambodian Killing Fields, and had deja vu all over again. What she didn't tell me was that the story had warnings for "angst, bad words, m/m sex, non-graphic death of children." Which, okay, nice to warn for, but the juxtaposition of "bad words" and "non-graphic death of children" had me kind of O.o (not to mention the minor point of a J2 story, already classed as Jensen/Jared, warning for m/m sex.)Then there were the pictures using actual footage, including a pregnant Haitian woman (this image since removed). Then there was the magical Negro, named Abraham, speaking pidgeon English and needing to be educated about HIV -- in spite of being a nurse. In Haiti. Which has had a pretty strong network of clinics and people educating about HIV for years now. Then there was the black cat the boys adopt in the epilogue... and name Abraham. After their friend. For reasons that are kind of unbelievable.
I'd like to say I don't see how someone can be in fandom at this point and make so many wrong steps, unless it was intentional. That I can't see how you can remain ignorant of the racist and colonialist aspects present here, the use of human suffering in such a blithe and sunny way, the massive fail of cultural appropriation. But I can. Some people have too much to deal with in their own lives, and need a place where they just don't have to think for a while. For some fandom is their happy place, and anything that's going to interfere with that is avoided, head firmly in sand. I don't presume to know why other people do things and what they need. And I can't say I don't have some sympathy for even hiding your head in the sand, in a way; fandom is a more stressful place for those of us who were
But I'd rather be more "stressed" than
So I can imagine how someone (and their betas and artist, etc.) could remain
The point isn't whether there are lots of stories of romance set against war and disaster-torn backdrops. Of course there are, and some of them are just as ill-considered and exploitative as this story. But it's also very different to set such a romance against a cultural backdrop that the characters do not belong to, particularly with the racial difference and the history of racial relations. Maybe it would have been different in some ways, if the backdrop had been a post-Katrina New Orleans...although probably not. It still would have been in incredibly bad taste, and enraging, because even though that is US culture, it exposed so much of our own racism and insensitivity to the poor. Maybe a backdrop of 9/11, although stories that came out about that too soon after it happened also generated quite a bit of anger (and of course, 9/11 had its own racial issues).
It does make me wonder if the reactions would have been any different if the story had been a Heroes story, starring René, the Haitian who finally got a name, dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake in his homeland. If it were written sensitively, with care for how the issues were handled, would it have been different? I don't know. It would still deal with human suffering, with very real human tragedy, and it would still be potentially hurtful to people impacted by those tragedies.
I don't know if I go as far as some, to say that one should never use real-life tragedies in fanfiction -- but at the same time, I would never do so; it's not worth the risk, to me. Risk of hurting others, and honestly, the risk of incurring condemnation. I think some of the people who wrote post-9/11 stories were working out their own feelings and reactions -- but then they posted them, which feels different, more exhibitionistic. And if you want to send your characters into a war-torn area, into a human tragedy...why not make it up? Would that be different, then? It wouldn't have the direct and strong emotional ties that people have to the actual tragedies -- although it could still cause them pain, in the shape of the tragedy.
Sometimes the "best idea" in the world shouldn't be developed. Sometimes you just shouldn't write. And if you do write, whatever your
When I read Merry's post on this, and saw amazonziti's comment:
Comment here, or leave a comment with the author or the artist to let them know that you do not think what they have done is okay. You can be polite about it, even. Or leave a comment at any of the posts I'm linking you to, so those people know that they are heard and acknowledged. If you're moved to do it, write your own post to boost the signal, or provide a link as an addendum to your regular post if you don't want to make a post only about this. YOU HAVE SO MANY OPTIONS.I realized that although what I said to myself is that so many people are posting about this, one more post isn't going to matter, what I wasn't thinking about was that maybe just speaking up matters. I mean, I knew that, I know speaking up matters, letting people know they aren't alone. But it's easy to think "what do I have to add?"
I have my voice, and I can add to the beautiful clamor of voices that are no longer silenced by my
I care, even though I'm still more
We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by. --Will Rogers
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
*prepares for icon+sig to engender cognitive dissonance*
Yeah, it takes me back to the day when men sucked. Wait. It's still that day, isn't it? --Luminosity
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
I only started watching with... season 5? Maybe season 4, but I think 5. They've made a lot of changes, which makes going back very strange, although I can tell that most of it is probably attributable to things shaking out as working or not working. Change I approve of most: Cat Deeley! *g*
It'll be interesting to see what they change, going in to season 2. Major strangenesses:
1. Mary Murphy's dark hair and very different look.
2. The fact that they don't assign partners, so that a couple can be paired up two weeks in a row.
3. The fact that they don't assign dance styles, so that the couple paired up two weeks in a row can dance the same style two weeks in a row -- especially when it's the primary style for both of them.
4. The panel of judges changing week to week, and made up of mostly the choreographers! Strange, but not necessarily bad. But it is obvious that this is a new thing for everyone, which is interesting.
5. Very strangest, that the same dance style and the same music are assigned to two couples each week, so that they aren't only having their performance judged based on how well they do the style, but how they compare to the other couple who did virtually the same routine (or a very similar one). It's less interesting to me than having a different song and routine for each pairing.
They made new changes this current season, season 7, too, which began a few weeks ago, and I'm not sure what I think of having contestants paired with All-Star return dancers. On the one hand, it could be good, because it's always seemed a bit unfair that your performance can be dragged down (or pulled up) by a less-than-good (or better) performance by your partner. And that it was couples that were targeted for possible elimination (at least for the first half of the season), rather than individuals. (Yes, once the bottom three couples were selected, it was by individual, but).
OTOH, so far I find it distracting that I'm really only supposed to focus on one dancer of the pair, since the other dancer isn't actually competing. I haven't figured out yet quite how to watch, and it feels like it... unbalances? my watching. Like, I'm not watching a couple dance, just an individual, even though they're doing partnered dancing. It's just kind of weird.
i was crooked. they straightened me. now i'm limited. i'll never be able to dance the same way. --PostSecret
Originally posted at Dreamwidth. There are
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