get me off this crazy thing

Hello kind intarwebs and fandomland! How are you'll doing? This is just a quick fly by iPhone update so that no one thinks I'm MIA or anything. I'm here, for the most part. Have to read LJ on my phone and sometimes that's too much work and then when I'm home I'm usually a bear of very little brain.

So, as my friend M used to say, what's up, chicken butt?

--For all you Martin Freeman fans (which should be all of you and although I haven't gotten around to watching Sherlock Holmes just yet, I very much approve of anything that promotes how lovely Martin Freeman is) I highly recommend the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy audiobooks read by Martin Freeman. He is nothing short of extremely adorable and also very very good.

--For one reason or another I never got around to watching the last season of Lost when it aired so I have started to rewarch from the beginning. I should have waited til I finished The Wire but there you go. I'm in the middle of season 3 and well, I go back and forth from loving the show to wanting to throw my shoe at it. And really there's too much to talk (or complain) about via iPhone but several truths remain that I had forgotten about: Locke is a loopy crazy irritating INCONSISTANT bastard, Sayid is usually the only one who gets anything right, Jack, Kate and Sawyer should just have sex with each other and get it over with ( or at least Jack should with anyone who can put up with him. He needs to CHILL), and Desmond is HOT on that blue shirt.

--More in audiobook land, I have also listened to Appaloosa which was great and now I want to get the next book but none of my local libraries seem to carry it on audiobook so I may have to resort to reading it, the thought. Lol. Also listen to Annie Proulx's Close Range which is her first book of Wyoming stories that has Brokeback Mountain in it. It's of course excellent but she's almost too good a writer, too rich in her words and sentences, for audiobooks. You can miss alot of how she crafts her stories when you just listen to her. You want to read it AND listen at the same time.

So after some deliberation, I think I've figured out how to spend my tax return. :D :D Some of it is earmarked to go into savings to pay me back for a new mattress I bought in December, and some of it is earmarked to pay down a credit card, but the rest is up for grabs -- sort of. There is, in reality, not that much but whatever.

I have some dental work coming up I should probably save more for, and I want to buy some of Cheri Huber's books, not to mention 2 big trips coming up in the summer (well, one big trip to europe, hopefully, and another horseback riding 4 day adventure) but the real debate is whether to get an iPhone, or an iPad, or BOTH. hah.

There is also a ton of horseback riding gear that I want...

Sadly, my refund does not have a magical extension charm. It can't really cover all that, but I think the iPhone is definite, since its supposed to be finally available for verizon and all that. I can't upgrade (if I want my discount) until the end of Feb. so the timing works out unless verizon explodes or something.

I REALLY want an iPad, but it's gonna have to wait.

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In other news, I'm almost to the end of The Wire, season 2, and I'm getting really into it! I really like everyone, even the criminals have a certain charm. I'm eager to see where these characters go, how they change over the course of the life of the show. I'm spoiled for one or two things, but mostly am watching blind. I love that! lol. I love watching a TV show and knowing you're in for "stuff" and having no clue what that will be.

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For reasons that frankly I can't entirely remember, I started listening to the ENTIRE Dune series cycle on audio books. After some debate I decided to include the last two books written by Herbert's son and Kevin Anderson.

It's been... interesting? Dune remains pretty incredible as a stand alone book. I had read it several times as a teenager and again in college but haven't reread it in years, certainly not since I started writing, and I was pretty astonished to realize how influential it has been on so much of my writing.

The rest of the series is on some pretty heavy (spicy?) crack. And just gets more so as you continue. I don't know how to feel about much of it, particularly the role of women in the entire series. He keeps to pretty rigid gender roles but then by the end makes women essentially the rulers of the known (crazycakes) universe. Of course they're basically homicidal sex-crazed maniacs... they're either "whores" or "witches." So, I guess nothing new there! lol. And let's not get into the whole axlotl tanks business...

Also, this might be a petty peeve in light of all there is to discuss about the Dune series, but I find it *so* aggravating when an author is not true to the internal logic of the universe they're creating.

But it's still been an interesting ride, and I look forward to finishing one day before I'm as old as Duke Leto II. hah. (and I was rather amused to realize that Methos is STILL older. :D)

Doctor Who @ Comic Con. That should be a recipe for mayhem. ;) Unless compelled by the mighty force of astolat, I think I'm not going to be anywhere near Comic Con this year. I'm okay with this.

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I have become enormously addicted to Georgette Heyer audio books. Of which my library has a distressingly short supply. The LA library has a few more. What I will do when I run out, I do not know. Dash it!

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I am writing HL again. Huzzah?

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New job continues to freak me the fuck out. /o\

(this post could not get more random if I tried. just warning you all)

Does anyone on my friends list own a copy of The Windflower by Laura London, aka Sharon and Tom Curtis, that I could borrow? I'll pay for shipping to and fro! It's out of print and not at any of my local libraries, and all the used copies I've found are like $75, which, I don't care how good a romance novel is, that's ridiculous. I haven't delved into ebay yet, but that way lies desperation. Anyway, I'd thought I'd ask the mighty friend's list. halp!

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I have a theory that is 24 and Highlander related. It will only be of interest to one, maybe two people on my friends list -- ( my theory, which is mine, that I have, that is mine, is mine: )

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I am saddened by the news of David Carradine's death. Kung Fu was a fun show to watch. I have vivid memories of being freaked out by it on a regular basis, calling my friends "young grasshopper", and wondering why the main character had to get branded. Seriously, I watched the series a lot, but only remember the old teacher, and the opening sequence, and some shots of the guy wandering around the Old West with a large stick. But I never forgot David Carradine from then on.

The news article is saying they don't think it's suicide, but probably some sort of accident in an attempt at auto-erotic asphyxiation [1].

I saw David Carradine in person once, not that long ago. It was at a restaurant with outdoor seating in a very hip and happening part of town. There are always tons of people milling about and looking cool and stuff. You cant' walk down the sidewalk without weaving in and out of the crowds, that sort of thing. And he was there with a large group of people, all much younger than him, and it looked like friends and family. And the entire time he was there before they all got up and walked away, I was like quietly going "DUDE. KILL BILL IS SITTING NEXT TO US." That was fun. I think I'll remember him that way.

[1] When I was younger, I thought this term meant it involved a car. And was always slightly confused.

I still have not gotten very far into the archive yet. woe.


My stories:

Dry lips over chapped
Cynthia Voigt - Tillerman Cycle
written for JunoMagic

I was introduced to Cynthia Voigt's books through the second in this cycle, Dicey's Song when I was 12 or 13 years old. They are immensely influential. Rereading them for Yuletide, I came to understand just how influential they were. These novels are so amazingly honest, so real and brutal with its simple emotions and truths. I realized how much my writing wants to be like hers. I think they're kind of perfect as they are, so writing a story for it was a bit tricky -- what more could be said. But it helped to write in her style, and to get into the mindset of the novels. It was a delightful story to write, although I worried it was a bit dull. *g*

For the splendor of it all
Dracula the Series
written for astolat

Written entirely on Christmas Eve. I had successfully avoided getting a Pinch Hit this year, but it didn't feel right only doing one story, and then I looked at both elynross's and astolat's requests to see what I could fulfill for them. I had actually intended to change my offered fandoms to include Dracula the Series, but got distracted and never got around to it. astolat and I had such a blast two yuletides ago when I had WACKY FUN TIEMS But it was a little lonely writing Lucard and Co. this time since I couldn't ask astolat to watch and help me. I had to endure the wacky by myself! lol. sigh. And the funny thing is, I don't even like vampires, normally. Anywhoo, this was fun to write. Lucard being all cape twirly and seductive. Honestly, hottest, prettiest, most ridiculous Dracula EVER.

Awesome #1: I'm a bit embarrassed how often I've watched obsessive24's new Doctor Who companion vid of companion awesomeness OMG!. It's somewhere in the double digits. You don't have to be a fan of DW to enjoy. Be sure to read the notes.

Awesome #2: Annie Cartwright! Annie/Sam. *GLEE*

Awesome #3: I've started to reread all of the L. Frank Baum Oz books, starting with The Wizard of Oz, which is my least favorite of the books, I admit, and I always forget how amazingly violent it is (hello, the Tin Woodman hacks at the wolves and beheads them! Tolkien had nothing on Baum. Also the Scarecrow twists the necks of all the crows and tosses their dead bodies aside. Goodness!). It's written in such a light, simple, declarative style that it undercuts the inherent gruesomeness of the whole thing, not to mention the emasculated male/withered old hag/young simple girl bizarreness. But still, Dorothy? Made of AWESOME.

Awesome #4: I have the 2 disc North and South BBC production waiting for me at home. Bring on the repressed British manly man costume drama! I'm all over it.

Awesome #5: Michael Franti.

This article doesn't really say anything all that interesting or new, but I thought I'd mention it. The "rewriting" of literary classics, like Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea and Tennant's Pemberley. Fan fiction does get a mention towards the end.

Rewriting the classic novels

As well as established authors reimagining classic texts there has been the emergence of fan fiction, where devotees of books create their own take on a story using the same characters and settings.

The internet has fuelled the phenomenon, with websites devoted to fan fiction. 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Lord of the Rings are among the favourites used as inspiration.

As the proverb goes "everyone has a novel in them" - but for some, it may mean borrowing someone else's ideas.

Nice little backhanded dig at the end, there. My reaction: There's To Kill a Mockingbird fan fiction??

( book meme )

It's sad how many of these I have on my shelf and have never read.

I inhaled the Pride and Prejudice DVDs this weekend. I have always loved Colin Firth, but now? Now he can come over and be broody and prideful, all smokey-eyed and tortured and come be my costume drama boyfriend. ( yuuuuum )

Hm, I've never been an actor worship person, but I can totally get behind having a Colin Firth fandom, yes I can. heh.

And since I'm in a time wasting mood, Edited to add one more, that I almost forgot ( the book meme, but with only nine books, because I can't think of any others, although I'm sure there are.  )

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I *loved* Alias this past Sunday. ( Read more... )

Okay, I've lazed enough. Back to work with me.

I work right by the water front and even on calm days it's windy here. Today was a real struggle getting to work. :) The wind kept pushing me every which way. LOL. Nearly got swept off to sea. hee.

In class we're reading Freud's Dora: A Fragment of a Case of Hysteria which I found deeply disturbing for some reason, and so did the rest of my classmates. More so than the actual text warranted, in my opinion. The professor had a tough time getting us off our disgust of Freud and onto the actual critique and analysis of the text in the context of the class (which is focused on the fin-de-siecle Decadent movement). Anyway, I mention this because at the start of class while we were waiting for the professor to show up, we were all commiserating over our many issues with Freud and how we felt he (mis)handled that poor unfortunate "Dora" and someone brought of Jung and then someone else brought up the speculation some have over Freud and Jung's "relationship". And of course I'm thinking that's an RPS pairing that can just die die die. And *then* someone else brought up (I had no hand in this at all, I swear) Tolkien and C.S. Lewis! and their supposed "love affair"! Slash is taking over the world! LOL. Meanwhile, I'm having a tough time not snorting in laughter, and the true test came when someone then brought up Frodo/Sam and how, some say, theoretically, it's supposed to be a reflection on Tolkien/C.S. Lewis. *boggle* From Freud to LOTR Frodo/Sam in about 10 minutes. :) It was rather surreal.

Should someone from that class actually stumble onto this post: Howdy!

So, recs.

First, carenejeans has written a lovely Highlander piece called Twelve Kisses (A Baker's Dozen) which I enjoyed muchly. Yay for new HL writers! woo. I loved how this story is structured, how it carried you through their developing relationship.

Second, I'm terribly late with this and I'm sure everyone's read it already, but if you haven't I recommend yahtzee63's X-Men story His Terrible Swift Sword. I don't read much in the X-Men fandom, but I have enjoyed the movies and I'd been hearing about this story all summer *g* and it was interesting to hear Yahtzee talk about it and stuff and I always admire an author who handles plot well. ( cutting away for possible spoilers )

It's Talk Like a Pirate day. Arrrr. So, I'm asking, anyone know of good Jack/Norrington?