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September 5th, 2008

to hit something and make it hurt

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Last night, I dreamt my sister drew some fanart for one of [info]kassrachel's stories, and I was just like, "But you've never made fanart for me!" (My sister actually is a talented artist. She is not at all involved in media fandom.)

Then I dreamt that [info]luzdeestrellas joined me and my friend Lee (and Lee's sister Ann) at the shore house we were renting (this is the same house where I once shared a sofabed with three other girls and this guy named Brian, because Lee's stepsisters and their friends showed up the same weekend Mary and I were there, and there weren't enough rooms for all of us), and the weather was rainy, so we were kind of stuck in the house. We ended up playing cards and drinking beer and watching a lot of MTV (which is actually what we used to do when it rained, well, minus the card playing - we were actually down there once during a hurricane - and I remember waking up the next morning thinking I would never ever get the taste of stale beer and Doritos out of my mouth, even though I'd brushed my teeth, like, four times trying to. That was also the trip where I learned to put one foot on the floor to stop the bed from spinning. Ah, youth.), which actually was playing videos, something I don't think it actually does anymore. We even had the old school remote that was still wired to the television - it was flat, like a box, and you moved the channel selector up and down the board.

***

I am having thinky thoughts, but I can't quite articulate them yet, so have a poem instead. I found this one while I was looking for something else. It made quite an impression.

Benevolence

After my older brother died and I had punished
the migraines with enough codeine
to sleep through the night I walked out
into the backyard with the moon illuminating everything
like an antidepressant and threw a rock
at two feral cats who seemed bent on fucking or killing
each other. It was not a mystical moment,
or a therapeutic one,
I did not link the feline fight of wills with my own, it just
felt good to throw something.
The fact that I missed
is not a telling sign of my own benevolence or a metaphor
for the inaction of violence,
it only means that I have always sucked at baseball. That I
couldn't throw a ball into a glove
if the ball was in my right hand
and the glove in my left. That I preferred to be
standing in the outfield where the grass had grown tall
and the clouds formed a menagerie
of animals above my head. Standing there
with only one wish:
that no one would hit the ball hard enough to reach me.
But the weight of the rock
and the sound of it ripping through the trees,
crashing against the fence,
was enough to make up for all the Little League humiliations
I had garnered through my intense fear
of physical injury. The time I actually dove
out of the way, the ball sailing beyond the dugout. The time
I could have scored if I had slid into the dirt
but instead, walked as if I had nowhere important
to be. Even as I watched my older brother
skin knee after knee, break bone after bone—
always surviving, always
being able to bite down on what
the world had given him, what he had made
of it, and still walk along the bases, the streets, the rugs
of countless therapists, still swallow
the glowing pills humming in the bottom of countless paper cups,
his arms bound to the bed by cotton straps,
the razor he once slid along his arm like a beam of light—
I couldn't manage the smallest cut,
the most laughable bruise. When I walked out
into the backyard and held the rock in my hand
I wanted so badly not just to throw it, but to hit something and make it hurt.

~Matthew Dickman

***

Jar-Jar Yum!

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If you ever had....bad thoughts about Jar-Jar from Star Wars, this post is for you.

Plagiarism Update

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Thank you to everyone who's given me the news.... It looks like the story I had plagiarized has been removed from fanfiction.net, and the person who posted it's user account deleted. It's not clear whether ff.net did the deleting or if the thief deleted it herself, but the important thing is that it's gone.

Thank you to everyone who left a comment in the story's reviews chastising her for stealing the story, and/or sent in an abuse report to ff.net. No matter who was responsible for eventually deleting the story, I'm positive the support I've gotten from all of you has had everything to do with it. I think it's absolutely awesome what fandom can accomplish when it pulls together like this.

It's worth mentioning that I got a letter (thank you [info]mysticsong for passing it on to me) from the beta who was thanked in the plagiarized story's notes to apologize for her part in the whole thing. It doesn't look like she was aware the story was stolen, and felt terrible once she found out about it.

EDIT: It looks like the user account is still active, so she probably removed the story herself.

September 4th, 2008

Supernatural and Dark Angel Recs

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Supernatural

American Myth by candle_beck (Sam/Dean) I really loved the character voices and imagery.


Gone Again by candle_beck (Sam/Dean) INSTANT REC!!! This was incredible. The imagery, language, the plot, and how real it felt. Seriously, this is one of the few stories that doesn't pull it's punches and yeah I was hurting for Sam and Dean by the end.


A Loaded God Complex by spn_summergen (Gen) I really enjoyed this story.


Dark Angel

The Trick Is to Keep Breathing by musesfool (Alec/Max) This was hot and I really loved Max's voice.

Booyah!

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I totally made The Allegory of the Cave my bitch.

Suck it, Trebek Plato!

so i turn my collar up and face the day

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Oh dear god, I have the worst headache. It's probably partly the weather, and partly the amount of time I spent this afternoon arranging a bunch of meetings with people who are apparently booked solid forever. I left work right at five (I work until five-thirty) because the pizza I had for lunch did not agree with me, and I was rapidly becoming more unwell than I like to be in places that are not my own home. I was vilely ill for a bit, and I am just aghast that the PIZZA I had for lunch hurt me. I mean, I kind of knew something was not right while I was eating, and I didn't eat it all, but I ate enough to make me unwell. Sigh. The last time I was sick, it was a cheeseburger. IS NOTHING SACRED?

***

Oh, god, the Giants are going to kill me. Stupid penalties, man. Stupid, stupid penalties. And also, no rhythm to the offense in the second half.

***

So I posted a story this morning:

The Trick Is to Keep Breathing
Dark Angel; Max/Alec; adult; 3,065 words
"I come here to be alone." "So, no different from anywhere else then, huh?"

babbling about the story, and some rambling about Max and Alec )

Anyway, I like how it turned out, and I'm glad other people like it too. And now I can cross that title of my list; it's been on there a while.

I still need to write the Alec woos Max with heists fic, though. If only I could write caper fic.

***

I posted fic today because it's the eighth anniversary of the first story I ever posted, way back in the days of mailing lists. I reread that story the other day, and it's... it's actually not bad. There are things in it I would never do now, that make me wince, but for a first effort, well, it doesn't suck. I remember sitting somewhere outside in Washington DC, waiting to go into a meeting, scribbling it down on my notepad. And having it betaed, like, 18 times by five different people. I was new, okay? I know you won't believe this, but I used to be SO SELF-CONSCIOUS OMG about showing my writing to other people. I was coy and precious about it and it makes me sick to think about now.

Anyway. Including drabbles, ficlets by request, kisslets and other commetfic type things, I've got about 750 stories in my delicious, in 47 fandoms (there are 48 tags in the fandom bundle, but one of those is for crossovers) and a bunch of pairings. The het/boyslash is split pretty equally, and gen is slowly creeping up there, thanks to SPN and Firefly.

I've been in fandom for nearly eleven years, and I've learned a lot - about writing. about gay sex. about British slang, Japanese mourning rituals, the shaving habits of ancient Greeks, and the 1967 Chevy Impala. About how to be a person.

I've had a few rough patches, but mostly it's been awesome. Thank you for that.

♥ ♥ ♥

***

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I was bored, because we all know that 4th quarter means a lot of commercials and McCain won't go on until the game ends so he can have network coverage, which leaves me with quizzes. I think only [info]shezan will appreciate this one. *g*



Your Issue Profile: 32% Obama, 68% McCain



When it gets down to it, you tend to best match John McCain. But he's not the perfect candidate for you, and you may not be sold on him yet.

Obama shares a good number of your views too, so you might want to give him a second look.

It all comes down to which issues matter to you the most.

It puts the lotion on its skin.

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Reason #629,126 why my boss thinks I'm awesomely wacktastic....

The first line of my informative speech for class next week is going to be: I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

\o/

The Four Stages of the Psych Zombie Attack (PG) - Psych

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Title: The Four Stages of the Psych Zombie Attack
Author: Tommygirl/[info]storydivagirl
Rating: PG
Fandom: Psych
Written For: for the apocalyptothon for entangled_now who wanted Psych - The zombie apocalypse, and comedy would be loved to pieces.
A/N: I apologize for the delay in getting this posted. I moved last week and have been battling with time and internet access. I also did my best to bring the comedy, so I hope this fits the bill. Feedback always appreciated.

Onto the story... )

Alpha and Omega part 65 - "Wolf In Sheep's Clothing"

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Yay! Part 65 of Alpha and Omega, my big damn table fic!

Title - "Wolf In Sheep's Clothing"
Prompt - 065 - Passing
Word Count - 901
Summary - Cavil and Gaeta talk about the upcoming unpleasantness
Author's note - I have a table for this series, I recommend you read in order. The table is here. http://rapfic.livejournal.com/8449.html#cutid1


He woke up with a start. He didn’t know where he was at first. Then the smell hit him. Rotting meat, and mold, and he was somehow standing upright despite how shaky his legs felt. Chains, he realized as the slight shift in his weight made him swing until he set his feet down more firmly. He was hanging from chains from his shoulders, his feet just barely able to touch the ground. The meat locker in the temple, he realized. He looked up at the meat hooks that hung from the wall and tried to suppress a shudder.

“You’re awake.” Gaeta jerked at the sound, bracing his feet to stop the swinging, already conscious of the painful strain it caused. Cavil knew his business, he thought. Gaeta could feel the chains under his armpits, holding him up, while his wrists and hands had been raised up and firmly secured behind his head. With his feet just able to touch the floor, he was in a fiendishly exposed position. Depending on what Cavil wanted to do, he had no way to defend himself.

Which was clearly Cavil’s point. The Cylon stepped around him, obviously amused. ”I considered the meat hooks,” he said casually,” but while it has a certain brutal charm, I realized that it would end our time together much sooner than I wished. And… I’m not anxious to do that, Lt. Gaeta. At least, not until we’ve talked. That is, not until you’ve told me what you know.”

“You can try,” Gaeta said. It would work eventually, but Kara knew the situation. She would take the scepter and run, and tell the fleet to jump. They had been on the mission for three days. The fleet would wait for ten. It would take her just a few hours to return to the fleet, but his goal was to hold out for the seven days. It was possible. Passing out from the pain could happen. So could a premature death, although he had a feeling that Cavil knew how those games were played.

“Try?” Cavil grinned. “Lt. Gaeta, let’s not mince words. I’ve read your military file. I’ve seen you in action. You know that everyone breaks eventually. This is really a matter of science now. The question is just how much pressure I’ll need to apply.” He waved and a centurion stepped into the room, ducking it’s head as it entered, and set a metal box down on the monks wooden prep table. Cavil gestured again and the centurion departed. He began setting out various implements. It was part of the mind game, Gaeta knew that. So was the talking. It was meant to unnerve him. He had to admit, it was working.

“I need to know certain things,” Cavil said easily. He looked in the box and then at Gaeta, as if contemplating something. “I was unkind before, Lt. Gaeta. I had made assumptions about you that betrayed my prejudices. I assumed that you were like most of your kind, slavering with rage to kill Cylons, but I think you’re a much more dangerous thing.”

“Oh?” The longer Cavil talked, the less things would hurt and the more time Kara had to escape. Cavil didn’t strike him as one to fall for the talking trick for long so he wanted it to last as long as possible. “What am I?”

“You’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Cavil said easily. “The average human being? A moron. Look at your new friend Sam. His every thought is plain on his face and anticipating his plans? It’s like guessing whether a baby wants it’s bottle or not. Your little pilot friend Kara Thrace isn’t much better, but you…. You’re a problem. We considered letting humanity survive, you know, but it’s your type that makes that impossible.”

“Really?” It needed a reaction if just to keep the Cylon talking, but Gaeta had to admit, he was curious.

“The idiots that were brave, we could kill. The cowards would fall in line easily… but you strike me at the sort to follow orders faultlessly until you rise up and destroy us. You‘ll nod and agree and all the time you‘ll be plotting. Biding your time. We get it from somewhere, after all.” Cavil’s smiled grew more malevolent. “You’d feel bad afterward…I don’t accuse you of lacking a conscience, but that wouldn’t hamper you in the slightest from doing what was necessary. That makes you a threat, the biggest threat I’ve ever met. But now is where we come to my conscience impinging on my love of revenge. You know you’re going to die?”

“It seems obvious,” Gaeta said slowly. The crawling sensation seemed to overwhelm him for a moment but he blinked it away.

“Tell me what I want, and you can die easily.” Cavil said pleasantly. “I’ll get the information eventually. I don’t have a *need* to torture you. It’s a chore… an amusing but ultimately dull chore. I think you have some understanding of the concept of a necessary but unpleasant chore. We can do this the easy way.”

Gaeta found himself shaking his head. “The answer is no.”

“Pity.” Cavil picked up a cat o’nine tails and set it down. After a moment of thought he picked up an electronic cattle prod. “I think we’ll start with something a little more high tech. I am a Cylon after all. And there‘s plenty of time for the whip.”

Two week countdown...

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Jesus Christ, I hate the people in power more and more. I think it's time for another donation to the ACLU. "It basically criminalizes political advocacy.". Gee, why aren't the major news outlets covering this? (Well, except for Minnesota public radio,but I don't think they qualify as "major.")

And in more political news, you know it's bad when even your own party is dissing you. But hey, here's a one major new outlet doing a good job of digging out the truth.



Okay, done with politics. You can resume reading now. *^_^*

In happier things: I keep forgetting how much I love Entourage until we get it in at work again and we all cluster around one computer to watch scenes and there's laughter in our office again. Ari Gold will always be my favorite 14-year-old boy sleazy agent.

LOLcatz are taking over the world. *puts it on Christmas wishlist*

I watched a few movies last weekend. Your mileage may vary... )

Lord of the Weed

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Wer "Sinnlos im Weltraum" kennt, wird auch an "Lord of the Weed" seine Freude haben. Der Anfang ist nicht ganz so gekonnt, aber danach konnte ich mich vor lachen nur noch wegschmeißen. Besonders schön das Einspielen von Populärmusik.

Noch nich mal drei Haare am Sack und schon im Puff Schlange stehn. )

Is there a similar genre for this in English fandom? Doing funny dubbing of existing movies/shows? I saw a video with English subtitles for Moskau Moskau and it's probably a lot funnier if you don't understand the song.

fic: The Trick Is to Keep Breathing (Dark Angel; Max/Alec; adult)

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Since it is the eighth anniversary of the first time I posted fic, I bring you a story to celebrate!

The Trick Is to Keep Breathing
Dark Angel; Max/Alec; adult; 3,065 words
"I come here to be alone." "So, no different from anywhere else then, huh?"

Thanks to [info]athenejen for the speedy and thorough beta. Title from Garbage.

The Trick Is to Keep Breathing )

~*~

Feedback is adored.

~*~

I Reject Your 'Reality'

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Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson wrote some pro-fanfic of Frank Herbert's Dune series. I felt disinclined to read them because I'd read three books by Brian Herbert and they all sucked so hardcore it made me want to throw the books against the wall and into the trash. Not because the story ideas weren't any good, some were intriguing. But he couldn't end the stories. He never knew where he was going, or if he did, he sure as hell didn't know how to get there.

Still, the allure of more Dune has always pulled at me. Until tonight. )




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September 3rd, 2008

Fic rec

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You know how just the other day I was asking for Brendon/Spencer in which Brendon is a good Mormon boy and Spencer has HIPS, and it's long and involved and every emotion rings true?

Yeah.

On that note, I want a million dollar, and a pony, and a recording contract of my very own. *looks around hopefully*

Stargate Atlantis, Supernatural, and Harry Potter/Temeraire recs

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Stargate Atlantis

Chance, Fate, God or Grace by [info]sardonicsmiley (Sheppard/McKay) I really liked the concept and character voices. I was enthralled from beginning to end. :)


The Difference Engine by copperbadge (Sheppard/McKay) INSTANT REC!!! I loved the character voices, the plot, I couldn't stop reading once I started. I can't express just how much I loved the concept and the ending really worked for me. Can't believe I'm just now reading this story!!!


Harry Potter/Temeraire

A Perfectly Normal Day by firefly_124 (Gen) This was delightful to read. I loved the character voices.


Supernatural

sin and bone by oxoniensis (Sam/Dean) I really liked the imagery.


Dangling On A String by legoline (Gen) I liked this.

Palin's Speech.

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Simply put. Fail.

Something about this woman annoys me. I don't know what it is, but my ovaries are screaming bloody murder just looking at her.

That is all.

~Jenn

RNC

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I'm trying to stay away from most political debates, but...

God, I love Rudy Giuliani.

That's all.

the universe speaks. i hear.

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Bones

spoilers )

***

Lalalala, We're Not Listening. But Wait! We Are.

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thanks to [info]melina123 for this link

Picking Palin - Cynical & Gimmicky Say Republican Consultant & Speech Writer Caught Talking On Air)

CT: I also think the Palin pick is insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson [another more experienced Republican, Texas Senator], too.

PN: Saw Kay this morning.

CT: Yeah, she's never looked comfortable about this --

MM: They're all bummed out.

CT: Yeah, I mean is she [Palin] really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

PN: The most qualified? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --

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