Miss Cellaneous

I hear it's More Joy Day.

Of course, it's also the day where my desk lamp finally croaked juuust when I picked up the papers I need to prepare tomorrow morning's study group with two friends. So, right now, I am grumpily sitting at a computer shrouded in less-than-mysterious half-light, the latter coming from the one-two-seven candles I lit on top of the monitor.

I guess the for-once-good part is that I never got that flatscreen.

In more joyful news, sageness linked to an anonymous love meme, but when I read through it, I knew no one but her and Isis in it. The trouble is not so much me thinking, "Who the hell are these people?!" but the ones I do know--on my flist, in my fandom--being unlikely to venture there and start reading through all the comments. While I'm at it, ( why love memes are the only time when I think anonymous comments are awesome. )

Truth is, I'd totally host an anon love meme if I thought people would play. Hmm.

Also, speaking of such positive emotions, in her ficlet offer post, yahtzee62 wrote me a kick-ass Ugly Betty drabble featuring Hilda & Justin. ♥

Now, to the kitchen (it's where the tiles begin) table for aforementioned prep. Meh.

I came home from today's exam -- which again went fine -- and checked Post Secret.

Often enough, the secrets make me sad. Sometimes, they make me smile. But this one made me laugh for all the wrong reasons.

Waiting for grundbuch giving me a ride to today's exam, so:

Everything you've wanted to know about the Writer's Strike but didn't dare to ask -- now with what *you* can do, easy as pie.

Hope you (culturally) Anglo-Saxon type folks had a good Halloween. That reminds me -- do I need to buy candy for St. Martin's, i.e. will kids actually ring my door here in the west of the city in a student- but not child-friendly area? At uni, in my rather bourgeois quarter, I was paid a visit by what, five kids, and ended up eating the rest of the candy m'self.

Holiday here, and I'm not sure how much I should study One Day Before. So I poked the internets, and look what came falling out:

- NEW JOSS WHEDON SHOW WITH ELIZA DUSHKU! There are, hands down, not enough ♥ in the world for just these two elements...and I'm v. intrigued by the premise, too.

- In a somewhat similar vein, check out this post! And add yours.

- And because I am perpetually twelve: via Isis, reedfem's post of astonishing pictures of, er, natural pr0n. NSFW: trees and fruits and vegetables, but yeah, I wouldn't study them in the office.

I'm not quite sure what it means if one finds the results of a freaky 2-minute on-line personality test eerily accurate.

Also, not having the best year month week day, so let's be shameless for once. Twice. Perhaps more often; you know how it goes.

In keepaofthecheez's Secret Admirer/Crazy Stalker Meme, you can find my my entry here. Anonymous or with your name; I'm easy that way.

Starting to study now. If you want to know more about my deeply profound experiences today, have a haiku.

I may have spend way too long on making a few icons for mcsmooch: a John/Rodney kissing festival. My icons, well, they're pretty straightforward:

5 McShep Kissing Icons

( More food news, cut much like the bell pepper slices I added )

In the mean time, if you want distractions, lunasky has found a few useless yet funny facts.

God, I want that soap. I need that soap.

Gateverse: jssangel wonders about fans, as do I.

Heroes: the_grynne gave me 3 facts about Mohinder from her personal pseudo-canon and shared speculation on that male character appearing in 2x01.

CSI the Original I accept no substitutes: Even if you are merely a cursory watcher -- do check out velocityofsound's pictorial recap of 7x24; it's hilarious. And true. Truly hilarious.

***

Reply to this post, and I will write one thing I love/admire/find impressive/awesome about you. Maybe more than one. Then [no obligation: only if you feel like doing it] repost to your own journal and spread the love.

Fellow connoisseurs, head over to toft_froggy's lj where she offers a tea poll and a little discussion.

i updated my sga genderswitch post -- if you see me missing a favourite of yours, feel free to drop me a line, always.

a propos, you can imagine the point where i squeed when watching ugly betty: "canonical genderswitch! awesome!" of course, a second later, i went, "...or is it?" awesome, yes. but genderswitch (from the show writers)? i wondered about the classification issue while updating above entry, too; it's not always so clear-cut, or at the very least the "genderswitch" label just has different definitions to different people.

( musings )

eta: forgot to mention that "has always been [gender x x/y]" stories, alternate universes, are also a different animal, and yet again, i included jenn's story (of a girl) -- same issues, different level; it's all in the meta: like modern art, such fanfiction relies on the perception of the reader, i.e. her or his background of both canon and fanon. the power and impact comes from that contrast/comparison rather than internal story developments.

technosage made a very thoughtful and thought-provoking post about anti-Semitism and Jewish identity.

*

In fannish news, I still haven't read the latest contribution to cesperanza's œuvre or even properly indulged in other kinds of SGA love. Maybe when I'm done with these...last...ten...pages....

Because my dear kangeiko -- back from vacation -- was just fretting: I don't really pay attention to who does or doesn't remember my birthday (unless we've been BFFs since school-yard days). It's a glass-houses/stones situation; I'm rather spectacularly bad with numbers and fairly distracted to begin with.

That said, I'm still not done sharing links from ljfriends doing so much better than me: jssangel wrote me a Laura Cadman ficlet. Angel, I told her, your juvenile delinquent AND NORTH!ITALIAN Laura Cadman is a delight, and oh, your writing never fails to grab me -- smart and sharp and vivid, immersing the reader in an instant. ♥

Before I go to bed -- y'all, check out the music mix ciderpress made for my birthday & SGA fandom:

they're advertising in the skies for people like us: a john/rodney ep.

If you snag, don't forget to tell her! I gotta warn you, though; I've been listening to the boy least likely to - i'm glad i hitched my apple wagon to your star on repeat for a while now.

Thanks for playing in the What To Review Poll. *g* I know what to tackle first now. (Who'da thunk? Seems that "iconic" doesn't just mean "pertaining to 100x100 pixels.")

Random links before I throw myself into the next study session:

1. Here's a neat German pronunciation site I found while looking for something to help me teach pukajen a bit of my language (she asked! Several times! I swear!).

2. I know some of you like cartoons/drawings/chibis and don't mind the cuter side thereof. If you've watched SGA even once, do check out steammmpunk's artwork plus accompanying ficlet...and if you're really into that kind of thing, the icons I made from it. (Should you take, please just credit her).

3. For the BtVS AND Farscape fans -- thassalia wrote me a wonderful response to a meme of hers. As always, all of her -- panfandom! -- ficlets are wonderful.

ETA: ( Gratuitous quiz result )

Regarding the latest lj news, you might want to read synecdochic's post.

As for the post-ComiCon blues, here's what perseph2hades (who has fabulous picspam of stars & fans) said about the Stargates panels:

"They were all crazy. I was sure they and their fans were drunk, but my sister assured me they’re always like this."

With thanks to all the people who provided photos (and who can be found in my Resource/Credit Post):

ex1	ex2	ex3

( The whole icon set -- mostly Joe, Joe and David, plus two Mystery Con Stars )

(chele74? fatema? The all-but-last-one in there is for you. And me.)

Never mind yesterday; this is a whole new day.

Painter coming to fix the bathroom (of the Dripping Ceiling saga), so I'll get some studying done before that. But first, a few things snagged from the flist that cheered me up. Non-fannish.

1. from the_grynne:

"Not coming to a theatre near you:

The Sock.

Starring The Grynne. Directed by MDG."

2. also from her:

Famous Poems Rewritten as Limericks

There was an old father of Dylan
Who was seriously, mortally illin'
"I want," Dylan said
"You to bitch till you're dead.
"I'll be cheesed if you kick it while chillin'."

3. from xanphibian:

Epilepsy: fighting myths and saving lives

"What would you do if someone had a seizure? If your first thought is 'oh noes, they might swallow their tongue!' please read this."

...pleasantly exhausted: After five hours of exam-writing, our late-afternoon bike tour of just about 20 km proved to be nice compensation. I'd been planning to lie down, but when Cutie called and, in the course of our conversation, told me to come along, as he wanted to check out ( this lake in up the hills south of the city... )

But enough of that. I bought a Sprite and a Paulaner, and we parked our bikes and sat down on the lake shore, kicking back and sipping our Radler. I'd also brought some grapes. Both of us had left the exam and related things behind, thank God.

On the way back home -- I cheated, really; I took the streetcar for the wilderness part of the way because lonely bike paths through fields are not my friends -- I grabbed a small broccoli-spinach-onions-tuna-garlic pizza, and hey, looking at these toppings spelled out, they constitute pretty much the Worst Breath Ever! Pizza. Anyway, it was tasty, and I felt I totally deserved it after my 3 h of bicycle-riding today. Now, I'm having a decent glass of wine. Also, inappropriate thoughts about my bed.

***

If you're bored, check out the thrifthorror community: All the horrors found in thrift shops: I was amused (and cannot remember how I found it -- off an icon lj, I think).

Just returned from Class ( ... )

SGA fans, go check out these Sheppard drawings by astridv. (She's a pro illustrator and a friend since Buffy times; trust me, you want her -- meta, art -- in your fandom.) If you got time and the inclination, feel free to spam her with offer some great fanfic recommendations.

Now, back exercises while watching Heroes.

I. Don't you just love it when certain people in power decide we, the citizens, shouldn't worry our pretty little heads?

1.
You thought I was using "in power" metaphorically? Not necessarily: If you ask, "Why worry about nuclear power in times like these, with technology so advanced, and Germany's reactors so safe?" I found a possible answer for you here (Spiegel Online article).

What gets me is not so much the incident in the reactor as Vattenfall's, the energy company's, reactions, and the late response from State politicians.

2.
Regarding Bush first commuting Libby's sentence and explicitly not ruling out a later pardon, let me not point to all the criticism from Europe but instead give you a brief collection of editorial excerpts from US-American newspapers as listed here.

mmmchelle also has a link here.

II. More light-hearted news of note:

1. Occasionally, (quasi-)governments amuse me. Did you know that the European Commission -- the predominantly (but not exclusively) executive body of the Union -- has launched a site with YouTube called EUTube? (What? I think it's funny.)

Either way, EUTube has -- among other videos relating to EU policies and programmes -- one rather interesting advertisement for European films. Here's the (not work-safe due to mature content) link.

2. ( Nur für die, die Deutsch sprechen, fürchte ich )

Last but not least: Happy Independence Day to my US friends!

For those not into the wacky crossover stuff, I share with you

Top 13 Worst Slogan Translations Ever

Top 10 Creepiest Fast Food Mascots

Still totally preparing study group (my turn this time, poor darlings; they'll be getting something I love but my fellows usually abhor). Regarding the Supernatural fandom kerfuffle, though, I wanted to share ( this icon, not safe for work. )

Otherwise, vaznetti's post and viciouswishes's post summed it up for me, with great input by femmenerd and mandysbitch...and I just realise I love my friendslist so. Very. Much. Rock on, girls.

I don't have what it takes the time or the energy for a big meta post on All The Other issues volleying through this our corner of cyberspace, but I'll link you to a few fragmentary comments of mine:

telesilla: On Validation; or why I couldn't care less about what the mainstream thinks...and my comment.

penknife: It's not just Persons A and B, it's Persons J, Q, and Z...and my comments to her or others here and here.

1. Few people will have exactly the same list of Ten Favourite TV Hotties 2006-2007, but chase820's You Penguin Types Offend Me post made me laugh & nod, usually at the same time.
( One example: Torchwood's Cpt. Jack Harkness )

2. DH fans, have you watched mamoru22's Without You vid? Awesome.

3. ( Oh? )

Let me give you this.

1. Blame/heap praise upon cottontail who asked for Young David Hewlett pics and elandrialore who linked us to davidhewlett.co.uk --

three Young!David Hewlett icons. ( Careful, careful; these are hot )

2. Snagged from eretria, two apt-enough Spiegel Online articles in the Germany Survival Guide:

a) Don't beat around the bush in Germany.

b) Whining, Bitching and Moaning

As I just shared on twitter: I'm arguing the latest New Who with SelenaK, which is always fun. If you're into Human Nature/Family of Blood thoughts and discussions, do read butterfly's episode review and, of course, selenak's piece here; this is my response to the latter.

Buried in books, but I still come to tell you that yahtzee63 has risen to the "First Kiss" challenge.

When I told her, "As always, I torture you with the Alias femslash: Rachel and Peyton. You saw my take on them; now I want yours," she gave me this wonderful little snippet. (Other great first kisses, some crossovers, as comments to that post, too; check 'em out.)

New flavour of tea. ( Cut-tagged for those who privately think only the coffee-intolerant & Englishfolks drink tea )

the_grynne, whose movie and tv reviews and previews are always worthwhile, made me laugh and mark The Bionic Woman on NBC down for fall viewing:

A bit like what you'd get if Dark Angel and Alias got together, got piss-drunk, and ditched their wimpy boyfriends in favour of femslash.

Also, as mentioned two posts before, I talked on the phone with a friend yesterday; you know what extended phone-time means:

( Icons. ROME, to be specific, some of them with captions, some without )

the_royal_anna, thank you! (She sent me this and a lovely card with handwriting that's still the prettiest. & :-)


If you're at all interested in characterisation as it pertains to reading and writing, run, don't walk over to rahirah's latest meta post, who, as so often, speaks my mind.

"Most of us have an image of the characters in our heads, based upon both the bare facts of canon ("Buffy wears what appear to be designer clothes") the inferences, logical or otherwise, we draw from those facts ("Buffy must spend a fortune on those/Buffy must be buying knockoffs on deep discount") and the interpretation we impose upon both facts and inferences ("Buffy is a canny shopper/Buffy is a spendthrift.")"

'you come in here with your guns and your brush cuts....' (some personal thoughts on FanLib) by telesilla

"I still believe that what we do in fan fic fandom is merely a modern version of what people have done since there was language. We tell stories, we use words to entertain. We tell the myths of the Greek gods in our own words as Homer did, we rewrite the Matter of Britain and put in that French OMC**, we piece together things from dozens of different sources and make something new out of it the way Chaucer and Shakespeare did. We are the latest in a long line of this kind of storytellers and when we're good, goddamn do we hit it out of the park."

If you haven't seen -- or want to see -- Joss's post to whedonesque regarding a crowd of young men murdering a woman by stoning her to death, here's the direct link to Equality Now. I cherish the fact they recommend different actions for different crimes against women; I feel concrete options for direct intervention are a wonderful thing (as I am both naturally lazy and unnaturally time-constrained).


::goes back to her books, sigh::

1. For random updates about my day with varying degrees of relevance, there's still twitter. Not sure how long I'll be willing/able to do so, but for now, I'll thus outsource daily chit-chat and spare all ye who enter.

2 witling's writing SGA, McShep, evocative and perfectly-pitched (rated R, no spoilers) as all her work. I already made dolphin noises of joy. Now you should run, don't walk over to her LJ and make her write more.

3. yahtzee63 has a few words on the cancellation of Veronica Mars that made me nod: '...but I still think the first season was one of the greatest seasons of TV I'd seen in a long time, that the cast is extraordinary and that I'd a thousand times rather have seen VM stay on the air than any dumb-ass beauty pageant show. [...] VM was about a smart, tough woman who went after what she wanted; its worst episode was therefore worth more than the best of what a lot of other shows can claim.'

the_grynne found a few words on friendship.



I'm a little surprised no one showed any interest in my Supernatural icons. It always seems my flist is overrun with the Brothers Winchester squee, but perhaps that's a gross misconception, and it's only a few vocal (and icon-saturated) fans. Certainly a common reaction, that Hey, Why Is Everybody into THAT Fandom All Of A Sudden?, regardless of the actual numbers of fans of THAT fandom. & ;-)



I've been wanting to recommend SGA stories for ages now, but I lost the list. *facepalm* So, these are just a few I found (again); you may have read them already.
( SGA Recs, somewhat random: McKay and Sheppard and Cadman in various permutations )

Please, do remember to feed the authors. They're hungry for it.