rants and ramblings of utter randomness

It's lonely here, there's no-one left to torture

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 16:35:51 GMT

Hey. Holding this spot because I don't want to get deleted (not even sure if they're doing that, but just making sure). I would love to come back to fandom, but I'm a fan searching for a fandom these days. Still drawn to due South, so send me some fic recs/communities? I bet things have changed since a few years ago. Here's a pretty pic to break up the boringness of this post. Oh, and happy Pride!

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So exciting! The audience will stomp and cheer!

Wed, 01 Oct 2014 17:00:26 GMT

Whee! I've officially signed up for DSSS 2014! It's been two years (TWO YEARS!!!) since I've done one, so I'm excited and also terrified. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it! Also, hey, fandom, HI! What's been going on with you guys?

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Non-fannish (but important) stuff!

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:10:22 GMT

If you're looking for a way to help with disaster relief in Oklahoma, here's a very tangible way to do so. Occupy Oklahoma has set up an Amazon registry listing items most needed by the tornado survivors/organizations on the ground helping them. There are all kinds of opportunities for providing needed items, from a hundred-dollar tent to a four-dollar rain poncho. Great idea, guys!

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0118 999 881 999 119 725 3

Mon, 06 May 2013 22:33:13 GMT

Does anyone know if there's a fandom for The IT Crowd? How many of you guys (who don't live in the UK) have heard of it/ are a fan? I can't imagine that there's not a fandom or at least fic out there. Enquiring minds wanna know.

Look how effing brilliant it is:

0118 999 881 999 119 725 3

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...in which primrose randomly updates. Hiiii!

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:09:05 GMT

( In no particular order, a (mostly) complete list of books I have started and actually plan to finish. No, really. )

Clearly I am insane.

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Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:18:36 GMT

Via scriggle

Bold the ones you have and use at least once a year, italicize the ones you have and don't use, ~~strike through~~ the ones you have had but got rid of:

I wonder how many pasta machines, breadmakers, ~~juicers~~, blenders, deep fat fryers, egg boilers, melon ballers, sandwich makers, pastry brushes*, cheese knives, electric woks, miniature salad spinners, griddle pans, jam funnels, meat thermometers, filleting knives, egg poachers, cake stands, garlic crushers, martini glasses, tea strainers, bamboo steamers, pizza stones*, coffee grinders, milk frothers, piping bags, banana stands, fluted pastry wheels, tagine dishes***, conical strainers, ~~rice cookers~~, steam cookers, pressure cookers, slow cookers**, spaetzle makers, cookie presses, gravy strainers, double boilers (bains marie), sukiyaki stoves, ice cream makers, and fondue sets languish dustily at the back of the nation's cupboards.

*I use it every time I make bread, which is at least weekly in winter.

**An essential part of my cold-weather cooking--I make soups a LOT during cold weather.

***What actually IS this, anyway?

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what's the story, morning glory?

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:50:47 GMT

Morning glories on the back porch--not fannish, but pretty anyway! No extra charge for the cute dog.

( More flowery goodness under here )

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Remember me?

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:05:13 GMT

Hi, all. For those of you who still remember me, I am not gone, honest! I've been on hiatus way too long, and I want to come back! Working full-time now, and it's eating my life (OTOH, I don't have to be worried about bank overdrafts for the first time in many, many years).

So. Tell me what's going on, give me recs, give me news, inform me! I'm going to try to go over my very long flist within the next week and do catch-up and delete dead accounts (of which mine is definitely NOT), and get rid of comms I don't read (these are more political than fan-related, and I'm officially sick to death of US politics). But I want back into fandom--picking up new ones (OMG DEXTER. SOMEONE PLEASE TALK TO ME ABOUT DEXTER), but still firmly in C6D (which I doubt I will ever really leave).

So, you guys, whaddya say? Am I welcome? Is there still a seat at the fannish table? Can I come home?

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Fandom Snowflake Challenge catch-up continued--Day 2

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:47:46 GMT

In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you did not create. Drop a link to your post in the comments. See if you can rec fanworks that are less likely to be praised: tiny fandoms, rare pairings, fanworks other than stories, lesser known kinks or tropes. Find fanworks that have few to no comments, or creators new to a particular fandom and maybe aren't well known or appreciated. Appreciate them.

1. Rage and Weakness by tanyareed. due South, Fraser/Thatcher, PG-13.

Yes, these are two stories, but they read more like two parts of a whole, so I'm listing them under one selection. Written when the few Fraser/Thatcher fics out there sounded like they were written by 12-year-old teenyboppers, Rage is a breath of fresh air--a thoughtful, well-laid-out portrait of Thatcher, presenting her as someone in fearful control of her emotions and personal life. When she is assaulted (physically, not sexually--this is not rapefic), she must begin to trust someone other than her own tightly-controlled self.

The second piece, Weakness, is a look at how Fraser and Meg (and also Elaine, who is significant in this story--always a good thing!) deal with their own self-identified weaknesses in relation to the events of Rage as well as in relation to themselves and how they perceive others (and each other). The author shows each character as very human with flaws and hangups as well as the intelligence and wisdom to begin to overcome them. This was one of the very first Fraser/Thatcher fics I read, and it's still one of my very favourites.

Here are the links for Rage chapters 2,3,4, and 5.

Links for Weakness can be found here (easy to locate amongst other stories that you might want to read, too--if anyone would rather have links to individual chapters let me know in the comments and I'll link them).

2. Oklahoma by Amperage and Livengoo. X-Files, Mulder gen. Rated NC-17 for violence.

Summary: "It's 1987 and the Oklahoma cops have an unsolvable case. Fox Mulder, golden boy of the VCU, is called in to stop the murders of children across the state. What he finds takes him places he never wanted to go and forces him to make the pivotal choice of his life."

This is a really old story; I found it last year during a minor resurgence of my (also really old) X-Files obsession. This is X-Files pre-series gen; it reads like a psychological horror novel, with a really fucked-up Mulder investigating a child serial killer who finds a way--real or imagined, we don't know at the start--to get inside Mulder's head and mess with it even further. T.S. Eliot's poetry plays a central role in a wonderfully creepy way. This is Muldertorture (a subgenre I usually run screaming from) at its most Muldertorturous, and definitely NOT for the squeamish. It's also really, really good. I would love to comment on this story at the source, but it was written back when emails were the only way to comment, and I'm not sure the authors would appreciate kudos 16 years out.

3. If You Can See Where You're Going by isiscolo. due South/Wilby Wonderful crossover. Frannie/Buddy, PG.

This fic isn't really unknown, but I haven't seen it recced in a while, so maybe some newcomers haven't read it yet. Isis calls it "probably the most all-out romantic story I've ever written", and it's definitely that, in a really good way. What it is not is a "Frannie-meets-someone-who-looks-like-Fraser-and-they-live-happily-ever-after" story. On the contrary, this story is about Frannie dealing with just that subject--the evolution of her relationship with Buddy goes from a crush on a Fraser clone to a real look at her feelings about lots of things--including Fraser, and including Buddy as a separate person. Buddy's line to Carol "What do you see when you look at me"? is dealt with here, and his line "if you know where you come from, you can remember what you wanted" is turned on its ear. And the framing POV is perfect. So, yeah, it's a romance--intelligent, fun, and damn good. You don't have to have seen Wilby Wonderful to enjoy this fic, but if you haven't, I'll bet you'll want to afterwards. :)

This is one of my comfort stories. I bet it'll be one of yours, too. You can give Isis love here, at her LJ.

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Fandom Snowflake Challenge--late start, playing catch-up (Day 1)

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:32:48 GMT

Day One: In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks you feel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator.

I don't know if I'm "defined" by anyone, since I write so seldom, but here are three I like:

1. Fraser Being Fraser is a meta on writing Fraser I did for ds_workshop, and it may be the piece I'm most proud of. I think I did a pretty complete character study of Fraser and how to write him without falling into traps of cliché and fanon. I know a lot of people tend to shy away from writing Fraser because they find him difficult to write. He's always been easy for me--it's like he makes camp in my head when I'm writing--so even though I'm not a huge self-pimper (to say the least), I still refer people to this when they're having trouble writing Fraser. Because you can never have too much Fraser.

2 Where the Women Are Strong, the Men are Good-looking, and the Mounties are Above Average. Written for the second DS Flashfiction Badfic Challenge, I had more fun writing this than any other fic I've written, ever. I'm a big fan of A Prairie Home Companion, and I've wanted to write a Guy Noir/dS crossover since a comment conversation I had with isiscolo a few years ago. I was very pleased with the way it turned out and the positive response I got--even my non-fandom pro-writer housemate liked it. :)

3. Light the Sun. dS Seekrit Santa is my favourite fic challenge, and I never miss a year, even when (like this year), I've been away from fandom a lot (POLITICS ATE MY *SOUL*, PEOPLE, and I'm trying desperately to get it back!). This was the first story I wrote for dSSS, back in 2006, and also my first real dS story (aside from one horrible attempt at NC-17 which may have come first but that I'm pretending doesn't exist and you should too). I really like this one--I think I managed to make it sweet without tipping over into sappy, and I even managed to write Vecchio in a way that doesn't make me cringe (note: I love Ray Vecchio so, so much--it's just that his voice doesn't come to me easily).

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con.txt, whee!

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:57:09 GMT

So, yay, I am now officially registered for con.txt! I've looked at the LJ comm and there's no update on roomshare, etc, since 2010.

Does anyone know if DW has a comm for con.txt? Are any of you guys going? Enquiring minds wanna know.

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Sat, 25 Jun 2011 22:43:42 GMT

I did not make this chart, but I love it a lot:

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I don't know if I'll be coming home soon, but if I do don't you tell her

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:43:45 GMT

The Parkington Sisters are so obscure they don't even have a Wikipedia page (!). This video is amazing on about a hundred levels. One of which is that Lydia Parkington (I think that's Lydia) is so gorgeous she can't possibly be real.

They're playing in Orleans in August. I may just have to go see them.

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Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:50:59 GMT

Tonight's dinner: Salad with mixed spring greens, strawberries, onions, lowfat feta and lowfat champagne-pear vinaigrette dressing. It's basically a modified version of the salad I pay eleven bucks for at Pizza Rustica. Om nom nom.

Although, really, if I could actually BE at Pizza Rustica I'd cough up the dough. Because it's about the ambiance as much as the food, and looking out on Blue Jays Way is way cooler than staring at my unpainted walls and unmade bed. In other words? Toronto, I'm over being mad at you. Can I come back now?

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This needs to be an icon.

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 23:21:01 GMT

Story is here.

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don't worry about a thing, 'cause ev'ry little thing gonna be all right

Sat, 14 May 2011 00:58:10 GMT

LJ flist-cut is done. I'll probably be doing more a little later, when I see how this one goes. I've whetted it down to less than 200, which is a lot better than it was. I still have some people on who have not posted in literally years, but I don't have the heart to delist them, mostly because I knew them in RL or had a close online relationship at one point (lady_morsmordre, if you're out there, I'm especially talking about you).

Again, if anyone wants me to add you back, post here and I will. My next thing is a drastic cut of comms, which, while not as heart-wrenching as the flist cut, still will be difficult. I've already done a few, but I need to do more. The glut of comms I have is worse than the unwieldy size of my flist.

Again, I am not cutting on DW.

Ahem. Now for more fun stuff. Here, have some Bob Marley cuteness:

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LJ flist cut

Mon, 09 May 2011 22:28:52 GMT

I've been out of the loop big time fandomwise recently, partly for RL intrusion, but also because my LJ has become too huge and ungainly to process in any kind of efficient manner (and I'm not Ms. Efficient on a good day). What I need to do is to cull my flist hugely, so in the next few days I'll be doing that. What I'm going to try to do is unfriend users who I have little in common with anymore, or who haven't posted in a while.

I don't know exactly when I'll be doing this, but it'll likely be sometime this week. Unfriending you does not mean I don't like you or want to hear from you, it's just that my flist has gotten so very big I'm afraid to look at it anymore, so I don't read posts or make comments or even talk to anyone. Shaving my list will put me back in control, hopefully.

I'll also be unsubbing from comms I never read or that are repetitive. I will be making an announcement post after I've finished doing all this stuff. Because people on LJ change their screennames like I change my underwear, I may end up unfriending people who have been on for ages, but who have changed their usernames so I don't recognize them. If I unfriend you and you would like to be added back, please let me know in comments there, and I will add you back.

I really hate doing this, but if I don't I feel like I'll never read LJ again and I love my LJ (and my DW, which I double-post at, although I'm not doing any cutting at DW).

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fandom is hilarious.

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 02:40:05 GMT

I just found a Darth Maul/Alex Krycek fic. I cannot tell you how funny I think that is. Also scary.

I'll give y'all the link if you really, really want it, but I don't think any of you do. I don't even want it. And no, I didn't read it. I can't bring myself to read it.

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wish you were here to chain you up without shame

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:36:37 GMT

Here, have some Wainwrights:

SO MANY HEARTS.

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random post is random

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 19:59:53 GMT

Fic summary: "A black Cadillac, sex, stolen money, and Alex Krycek. Does Scully need anything else?" My answer: Well, if she does I'd be glad to take her place.
I finished my paper. I'm actually pretty shocked I finished this early.
I've figured out how to send fic to my Kindle. This can never be good.
I'm not taking a holiday this summer. I was okay with it at first, but now I'm kind of depressed about it. I might, might, mind you, go here in October as consolation. Because I need to go to Cape Breton again. I really do. And what better time or reason than Celtic Colours?
I want some new icons but I don't have photoshop anymore. Alas.
I wish I could blow off school and just be fannish. Work is okay, because I need to get paid, but school is boring and all about a pipe dream and I'd rather be doing something for ds_snippets, dammit.
Speaking of fannish, I've probably missed a bazillion of posts, so I haven't read or commented on new fic.I will try to reconnect better in the future. See above about school.
I want to win powerball so I can buy a whole new wardrobe, starting with lots of stuff from here. Like maybe this And/or this and this. At the moment I have fuck all in the clothing department. And also in the money department.

In conclusion, Delenn.

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Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:56:58 GMT

WTF, Livejournal?

Anyone know if there's a reason LJ is almost always down these days? Not cool, LJ, not cool.

ETA: Apparently LJ has been suckerpunched by Russian political activists (thanks to omens for the link). Totally not LJ's fault.

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bzuh?

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 03:01:32 GMT

Um. Why, now?

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Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:02:03 GMT

I wrote this list in a comment to peacey, and I figured I'd post it here, too, to rec them and also to remind everyone that yes, I am the dorkiest dork in Dorkdom.

( Books I'm currently reading )

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Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:17:34 GMT

Hee! Totally been saying this for years:

see more Celeb Look-A-Likes

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do you know what's in your cosmetics?

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:05:53 GMT

Apparently there is legislation tabled (in the US) to help deal with the problem, but I don't think anything's been voted on. I'm also interested in what the rest of the world is doing to regulate the industry (I'm guessing it's more than the US has, which until the recent legislation has been pretty much nothing). Anyone know? I could look it up, but I really, really should be doing my PowerPoint slides.

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