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Below are the most recent 25 friends' journal entries.
| Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 | ||
|
elke_tanzer |
10:32p | OTF thoughts from a polyfannish omnivore I have friends who are into TPM, TPM and more TPM. Qui/Obi is their One True Pairing and they will be writing and reading Qui/Obi until the heat death of every star system in every fictional and nonfictional universe, you know? :-) Every now and then, some of them dabble into other fandoms or other pairings, but they think of themselves as TPM fans in their heart of hearts. Some fandoms tend to have a really high proportion of fans for whom it is an OTF. It's their comfort food, their splurge, their indulgence, their haven, their playground, their garden, their home turf, their creative center. TPM is the one that first comes to mind, but Highlander and Mag7 are not far behind. And it's not just that they have an OTP... TPM Qui/Obi OTPers may very well read Obi/Ani or Qui/Xan or Obi/Xan if it crosses their path... but... just as importantly as their relationship of choice being so close to their heart, it's that the fandom itself is their One True Fandom. I'm far too much of an omnivore to ever think that I'll ever be able to say that about myself. But ever so rarely, I think I've found an echo of that sort of OTP or OTF feeling, and I hear the resonant thrum of it enough in my bones to know some measure of what the OTPers and the OTFers experience. And tonight, I want to thank ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} paian for reminding me what it feels like, because the following appeared, as if by magic, on my flist, and it encompasses and encapsulates so much of why I tumbled so hard for slash fandom, and why I tumbled so hard for SG1, and why I will always, always, always have a special place in my heart for Daniel and Jack, and for the kinky aliens who make them do it... and for every author who so skillfully offers their fresh, new take on every fabulous, familiar plot. I lack the words to convey how much I adore fandom right now.Stargate SG1 fic by Paian: follow through (daniel/jack, ADULT) Daniel/Jack, S5-ish, adult/explicit, ~6880 words Aliens make them do it *glee* Just, *utter glee*. Current Mood:  grateful |
| hyperfocused | 3:06p | So I Guess LJ is insane? I'm just checking to see which of the other journaling sites I vaguely recall acquiring accounts for still work. So far, GJ won't let anyone update, this seems fine. ::waves at any familiar faces:: Current Mood:  anxiousCurrent Music: General Hospital |
|
elke_tanzer |
7:56a | In 2009, I resolve to get caught up with my life. If you get emails out of the blue from me regarding ancient obligations and gifties, it's because I'm making a serious effort to get caught up. This week, that'll include treewishes (email sent), wyomingnot (comment sent and answered), dragovianknight (I will email tonight), and vimeslady (who I've had trouble getting in touch with multiple times, but I will be trying again to email tonight).If I have some obligation to you, and I have not emailed you by this coming weekend to make good, please email me and remind me of whatever it is that I've forgotten or that my old email crashes and/or overzealous spam filters ate. And I will also be finally finishing backing up and transitioning content from my LJ this month. It's feeling more urgent now that there are rumblings that the owners of LJ just laid off much of their LJ-related staff (possibly without severance). Some details about that are here: http://twistedchick.insanejournal.com/7 ETA: http://twistedchick.insanejournal.com/1 How to back up your journal: http://brown-betty.livejournal.com/2840 http://liz-marcs.livejournal.com/41 http://antennapedia.livejournal.com/238 http://antennapedia.livejournal.com/266 http://zvi-likes-tv.livejournal.com/480 and my posts at http://elke-tanzer.insanejournal.com/ta ETA: and http://morgandawn.insanejournal.com/221 ETA: also http://karma-apple.insanejournal.com/80 A note from synecdochic about the progress on Dreamwidth (for journaling):http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/3023 Pages from the Organization for Transformative Works about the Archive Of Our Own project (for archiving fanfiction): http://transformativeworks.org/node/96 http://transformativeworks.org/proj ETA: Also a note from the OTW about Fanlore, a great place to put your contact information so that people can find you if your LJ or IJ or JF or whatever goes away unexpectedly: http://transformativeworks.org/news/o And a note from squeaky about the stability of IJ right now:http://asylums.insanejournal.com/announ Additional perspective: http://zarq.livejournal.com/846503.h And now I am headed to work, where I have similar organizey catchy-uppitty things to do, but for workstuff I am more like a month behind, rather than like... a year behind or more, which is the status of my fannish, extended-family and extended-RL-social obligations. Over January and February, I'm also hoping to finish the work I began two years ago on my fannish and RL websites, as well. Being halfway between things feels rather like being uncomfortably splinched. I will be traveling to my parents in Indiana again in February. March will be professional development class and PMI's PMP certification exam (my class will be in Los Angeles in March rather than San Jose in January because of my employer's travel expenses freeze) and a fannish weekend at the beach (yay Escapade!). If I haven't started going on Sierra Club dayhikes, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity or some other local Burbank community cause, and/or signed up for eHarmony by the end of February, I will be doing so in April. Re: my interconnectedness with people: 2009 Will Be Better, Dammit. In other news: I adore my wee baby dragons! :-D I am brainstorming names for these three:    My Mom likes the little tiny dragons that don't grow very big even when they're mature, so I'm coming up with names with meaning for her that I'll use any time I am able to name one of that breed.  And I have named this one Thunbergia Sedge, after a flowering vine that is a favorite of my father's garden and a family of plants that look vaguely grasslike which Dad likes to photograph in prairie and marshland preserves. I wonder if when it begins to grow its wings, I will be able to tell if it's male or female, or if I will have to wait until it's fully matured... Either way, this is the first egg I stole, and my first dragon to hatch, and I... I guess I'm just infatuated with the wee little virtual dragons. :-) Current Mood:  determined |
| Monday, January 5th, 2009 | ||
|
elke_tanzer |
10:19p | Passing the info along... A fellow fan is having trouble making her rent this month, and may be kicked out of her home. She is selling a number of books, CDs (including lots of Celtic stuff!), DVDs and tarot decks etc from her personal collection, and she also makes beautiful jewelry and altar dolls. If your finances are stable enough for you to be in shopping mode right now, please check out her posts of items she is selling, and browse her Etsy and Artfire storefronts. Info is here: I know that there are at least another couple fans in similar situations, but I can't seem to find the links right at the moment... if you know of others, please feel free to link to their sale posts or storefronts in the comments here. Which reminds me... I can't remember if I linked to this one before the holidays or not; it's another fellow fan having financial strain and selling items to pay the bills. Again, if your finances allow you to be in shopping mode right now, please check out her posts: http://digitalwave.livejournal.com/t Current Mood:  indescribable |
|
elke_tanzer |
8:11p | Back to bright lights, big city... And now I am going to have sushi for dinner, and then crawl into my very own bed so I can hibernate for a little while. Yay for being back in SoCal! :-D Current Mood:  exhausted |
|
elke_tanzer |
7:05a | Thank you, US Airways... The Hilton Hotel near the Phoenix airport was OK to stay in last night. I am thankful that US Airways put us up overnight when many of us on the running-late flight from Indianapolis were stranded since our connecting flights had already left... it was much nicer to have a bed rather than an airport bench. And now I am hoping to board a morning flight to Burbank. *yawn* So much for getting to work early to catch up on things before the new year's chaos begins with a vengeance, though. Ah, well. I'm just rollin' with it... Have a bearable Monday, everyone! Current Mood:  sleepyCurrent Music: overlapping gate announcements |
| Sunday, January 4th, 2009 | ||
|
rivkat |
9:49p | Fannish love and reviews My Yuletide story was a character piece, Michaela Dupont from Anna to the Infinite Power. Fannish things I have recently loved: Sarah Walker vid, Creator, by talitha78.linabean’s poem taken from snippets from sgastoryfinders. … the one where McKay is turned into a puppy!!! It ends up with John and Rodney together I'm almost sure I didn't imagine it. I know it's out there I'm looking for a story Please? John is very politely (with guns) asking I am looking for a fic See also trinity_clare’s riff on William Carlos Williams in the comments:I have read the stories that were in the comm and which you were probably saving as bookmarks Forgive me they were del.icio.us so slashy and so hot And then there’s the additional material, not McShep, which is funny but also seems to me to serve as a critique of the pairing-centeredness of so much fandom, especially when it’s two white guys at the center. Jayne Leitch, Dearly Divided: SPN/Dexter, Dean & Deb. I don’t know Dexter, but the SPN plot—oh, Dean. (Also, oh, Sam.) ( short reviews: Pratchett, King, After School Nightmare, Eternal Sabbath ) Current Mood: anxiousCurrent Music: Beans - Mutescreamer (El-P Mix) |
| Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 | ||
|
digitalwave |
4:02p | Wow! See Snoopy doing his Happy Skating Dance? That's what I feel like doing, too! We got our new (to us) table and chairs delivered today. Steve bought it over a bit ago and Lee is upstairs putting it back together even as we speak. It's gorgeous! It's barely a year old so it really is like new. I can't imagine having the money to just buy another dining room set like that because this one didn't quite fit with the style of the house they're remodeling in old Louisville. But I'm sure not complaining. Steve wouldn't let us give him anything for it. He said he's happy to keep taking things out in trade for graphics and web design from us as he needs it. The neat thing is, since it's still so new, Ashley Furniture still carries the set. It's called the Cross Island collection. If we can ever afford to we'll add the two Arm chairs for the end and two additional Side chairs for in the middle. Then it'll seat eight people. It has four chairs with it now. I was thinking of maybe using mom's Wormy Chestnut fireplace bench if it's high enough on one of the sides for now. Then I'll put the other chairs one on either end and two on the other side. If it doesn't look too dorky to use it that way. I can't believe how pretty it is! And I'm more than bowled over by Steve and Eddy's generosity in giving them to us. It's so much larger than my old dinner table, it measures 78" with the leaf in place. My Christmas runner just lays on top of it now, it doesn't cover over the ends of the table but it still looks nice. I've got the arrangement mom made for me in the middle with candles on either side. I'll take pictures once we finish getting everything back in place. This is just so neat! :) |
| Friday, January 2nd, 2009 | ||
|
elke_tanzer |
9:31p | OK, which of you knows about MySpace? Some of my younger cousins in another geographic region are on MySpace, and my Mom would like to be able to interact with these nieces of hers, but apparently the only way they "email" is through their MySpace but it's not exactly email. The last I heard, MySpace tended to grab personal information about you and your preferences from your Amazon identity and goodness knows what else, so security-conscious and privacy-valuing folks were staying away from it... Should I be overly concerned about privacy and security if I sign my Mom up for a MySpace account (and therefore also I will probably have to sign myself up for an account as well, so I can do tech support when she runs into questions)? Or is there some easy way for us to tell the nieces to add us to their MySpace contacts as plain old ol'fashioned email addresses rather than whatever flavor of contact MySpace uses? Halp, oh all- knowing flist? In other news, one of my wee virtual dragon eggs has hatched into a baby dragon!! Please click on it to help the wee little one grow... It's hopefully going to grow up happy and healthy into one of the dark green dragons that disguises itself as a tangle of plants. At first I had my doubts about the breed, but in thinking and brainstorming a bit, they remind me a bit of the Earth Dragon on the walking trail on Sentosa Island in Singapore, and in the garden landscape of my imagination, I would dearly love a set of such dragons guarding the entrance to my fantasy cottage garden of vegetables and berry brambles and fruit trees. All three of the other eggs are starting to develop cracks, which hopefully means that they will hatch soon, too... a click or two would help them along, if you're so inclined. ETA the next morning: Eeeeeeeeeee! Look! Two of the others have hatched! Aren't they cute? ETA the following night: Awww! The fourth one hatched! Adorable! And now, a New Years Meme snitched from thebratqueen... Please comment with something you think I should do or try to do in 2009. Big or small, silly or earth-changing. Current Mood: exhausted |
| Thursday, January 1st, 2009 | ||
|
digitalwave |
10:04p | Probably a really crazy idea... But it's one I've been thinking about for a while. OTW, and the projects they've got going, is what made it start percolating even more in my head. For a long while now I've watched so many people I care about here online struggling through illness, the loss of jobs, sudden house emergencies that sucked already strained finances dry and so many other unexpected disasters. Each time I've wished that there was something I could do. More than once I've seen you guys rally behind someone who needed help in fandom. I know because I've been on the receiving end of that help more than once. Believe me when I tell you that when it's come it's been a life-saver that I can never hope to explain to you. In a time of need that I never want any of you to know first-hand. First off, let me say that if we ever did my suggestion I'd be happy to excuse myself from ever benefiting from it. This recommendation isn't done in hope of any gain of mine. It's made in the hopes of helping others. What would you guys think about our setting up some kind of fannish emergency trust fund? It could be something that we could all contribute to when we had a little extra money and it could sit somewhere until it was needed. Just think, if even just a hundred people sent in as little as $10.00 there would be a thousand dollars in the fund in no time. Think how much good could be done with that amount alone. We've got so many CPA's, accountants and other people who handle money all of the time in their real lives that I'm sure that we could come up with someone to govern it. Heck, it could even be in the form of an elected board of governance if you thought that would work. When we heard of someone who needed help, whether directly or though a friend submitting their name for aide, then the decision could be made to send them something from the fannish fund. It wouldn't have to be a lot. Believe me, when your back is against the wall any gift is manna from Heaven. What do you think? Good idea, bad idea? Too silly to ever succeed? I'd love to know your thoughts on this. Feel free to pass this around if you'd like, see what other people think of my crazy idea. I look at all of the good we do with something like wish_list during the holidays and it makes me wish that there was more that we could do to help one another all year long. Fandom can be such an amazing force for good. I don't think that there's anything we can't accomplish if we just put our mind to it.*hugs* |
|
digitalwave |
8:08p | Happy New Year everyone! I'm sorry that I haven't been around, mom's daycare has been closed most of the last couple of weeks so I've had her 24/7. I love her so much, and I don't mind taking care of her, but it's translated to my not having any free time. I wish that she were doing better, she's still pretty congested and gets short of breath on exertion. I just gave her an extra 80 mg of lasix with her daily meds and I'm going to the drug store in a bit to get more Robitussin DM. It's a cough syrup that she can take with her high blood pressure. Plus it has an expectorant that should help loosen up some of the congestion in her lungs. I'll have to see how she does tonight. If she's not doing better by tomorrow I'll have to take to the doctor. She was in the hospital last January, I sure hope that we're not heading there again. I've got a prescription to restart her physical therapy. I'm also going to ask about doing pulmonary therapy as well to see if it will help. I'm hoping to get the rest of the packages I owe out in the mail by Saturday, barring any major complications. There's just a few more to go but I want everyone to enjoy their goodies. Guys, thank you so much for the things you've gotten from me. It's meant the world to us and helped keep us going in a month that we were really short. I hadn't had a chance to tell you but I did get the extension and I got the water bill paid on the 30th which was a huge relief. Also, I've been paying extra each month for the last five months and with the payment I'll be making to our mortgage company tomorrow we'll be brought current. Now I'll just do my best to keep us that way. I still owe a ton of thanks for all of the beautiful cards that you've sent to us. I'll take pictures to show you how we've got them on display. Several people have gotten me paid time; meret, shay_reynolds (she turned my name into a comm who awarded me a whole year's time!) and some anonymous sweetie who didn't leave their name. Of course, you guys know that this means you're stuck with me, right? I'd have to stick around to honor your gifts if nothing else. I've also gotten wonderful song mixes; for example, both tyffi and duskwillow sent me beautiful ones that I cherish. itsaslashything sent me a really sweet present of $25.00 which I used on goodies for mom, Lee and Amber. celli sent me an Amazon gift card which I'll use to try and get some things that we can all enjoy, probably some movies in their after Christmas sales. And allzugern got me a $15.00 gift certificate with Agent With Style. As soon as I can I'll check over her site and see what Supernatural goody I can get from her collection of great zines she offers.One of my very best presents was seeing all of the people who signed up with wish_list this year. I wish it was a comm that we kept active all year long just because it's always so amazing to see everyone spreading so much joy and love around. I'm just sorry that I couldn't be as active over there as I would have liked.Like I've said before, no matter what, I am so, so wealthy in all of the ways that really matter. I have my family, who I love more than life, and I have you guys. Those things alone are the very best presents that I could ever hope to have and I truly, truly cherish them. :) Love you guys! *hugs* |
|
elke_tanzer |
11:01a | Yuletide 2008 Revealed... I greatly enjoyed writing Storm Clouds Clearing in Mulan, for nephthys. I startled the heck out of myself by not writing pr0n, by the way... somehow Shang was just too angsty about that long ride to the Fa home to even think about taking his pants off! :-) Huge thanks to JackOfNone for writing the fabulous Captain Blood story Pecca Fortiter for me! I note with additional glee that the other lovely Captain Blood story, Once A Pirate, was written by marshalmeg, another author I am unfamiliar with... And this means: YAY for discovering not one but two previously-unknown-to-me fans of Captain Blood! I adore Yuletide... :-D Current Music: Winter Wonderland... |
| Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 | ||
|
elke_tanzer |
11:56p | Goodbye 2008, don't let the door hit your ass on your way out... OK, OK, so 2008 did include some good, and some really good, things for me. But holy crap, 2008 has sucked in so many really big ways. I am grateful for all of the good stuff, really I am. My parents and I are counting our blessings and hugging each other tight a lot. But I am really, really, really hoping 2009 will be better. *pinches the cheeks of the wee ickle baby new year* ( Introspective stuff, feel free to skim right by... ) I do want to take this time to say: You fabulous folks here really make a difference in my life. I take great comfort knowing that you are here. I rely on your expertise on so many things, and you cheer me up and inform me about so many things in life (fannish, nonfannish and everything in between) and I am so happy that in some small way you gain some value in your life by spending time reading what I write here. Thank you for being a part of my life. *group husmish* I wish that we all may have a happier, healthier, wealthier 2009... a year which allows all of us to hug our loved ones tight, to celebrate our passions and our creativity, and to make fulfilling contributions in the lives of our families, our friends, our communities and our world. Happy New Year, everyone! Current Mood:  coldCurrent Music: Wheel In The Sky/Do You Recall |
|
rivkat |
8:59p | Year in writing Year-end roundup: Boy did I write more than I meant to. Aside from the unfinished genderswap/switch, Deancubus, amnesia, and SV forced-to-marry stories, each of which is at or over 30 pages, and the shorter sequel to UnderDarkening Skies, I finished (all SPN unless otherwise noted): the SPN/BtVS crossover Under Darkening Skies,a Sweet Charity story for giandujakiss; DVD commentary on my SV story Rainbow Sign; a remix, Blink (The Rapid Eye Movement Remix); Tricking (my first hookerfic!); Filthy Mind; Captured by the Game (my first full-fledged AU!); the Filthy Mind sequel <ahref="http://rivkat.livejournal.com/203918.html">An Act I Would Enjoy</a>; Lazarus Falling; Double Cross; and a bunch of stories and snippets for Eight Crazy Nights, including Tell It Slant (XF), Fides, a bunch of fun Chuck stuff, Gossip Girl (who knew that Faith Lehane and Blair Waldorf would be such a good combination?), and two Impala stories I like a fair amount.</p>Next year’s resolutions: finish the unfinished stories; think about a Mirror Universe story; write a paranormal romance.</p>Teasers: ( amnesia ) ( forced to marry ) ( Deancubus ) ( genderswap/switch ) ( BtVS/SPN sequel ) Current Mood:  crankyCurrent Music: Peter Gabriel - Here Comes the Flood |
| Monday, December 29th, 2008 | ||
|
seperis |
7:54p | why. why in the name of all that is internety Dear LJ, Do you hate us that much? hugs and kisses, seperis Current Mood: anxious |
|
elke_tanzer |
12:48p | I am giving myself silliness for New Years. So... off and on, all last year, I kept seeing these things all over my various flists, and I dutifully click on them because it looks like y'all are having fun. And I've just decided that heck, I should have some silly fun, too! I'm pretty sure the site isn't doing anything sinister; it's just an ad-supported free site of silly fun, with adorable adoptable dragons. Click on my dragon eggs, please? I stole them from the big pile of abandoned eggs at the entrance to the cave, and it would be sad to see the wee virtual dragons die. Thank you! Current Mood:  busy |
|
elke_tanzer |
7:08a | Family Favorite CrockPot Recipes, Part One So I don't lose these darned things again.... here are some of our wee little family's favorite crockpot recipes. Mom and Dad and I made these recipes when I was in middle school and high school... whoever was awake early could start the recipe and we could all go about our day without thinking about who had to set aside part of their afternoon/evening to cook dinner. And with Mom returning to work full-time around that time of our lives, and Mom and Dad taking evening classes at various points, and with me having all kinds of activities, and all three of us having a bazillion hobbies... let's just say that the crockpot was a godsend and leave it at that. Nowadays crockpots are really nice, with more complex timing settings and all that, but they're even nicer now that you can buy disposable liners for them. I am uncertain whether all of the hot water and soap we had to use scrubbing out the baked-on stuff in the pot is more or less ecologically friendly than using a disposable plastic-like bag to line the pot so you pitch the bag afterwards, but the disposable liners are certainly less work for the not-chefs (whoever cooks at our house is the chef, and the not-chefs clean the kitchen afterwards). Anyhoo... these three recipes came from a Rival crockpot cookbook from 1975, ISBN 0-307-49263. ( International Chicken ) ( Chicken Fricassee ) ( Candied Polynesian Spareribs ) Current Mood: busy |
|
elke_tanzer |
6:46a | Family Continuity I have been updating my Contacts database from my Mom's addressbook. I think have the most up-to-date addresses that she has for all of my relatives now. I still don't have email addresses for many of them, but this is progress, and if her addressbook is ever damaged (it's actual, physical paper), I have a digital backup now on my laptop and my iPhone. Once I'm back in California next week, the data will be included in my regular backup schedule. This is progress. This week, while I'm installing the replacement for her desktop computer, I'm hoping I'll have time to figure out how (if?) she has been keeping track of people's email addresses on her existing computer. Cross your fingers for me, people... my parents use Windows, and Outlook, while I am most at home in either Elm on Unix or Thunderbird on my Macs. I am also trying to make headway towards having digital backups of old family photographs, recipes and patterns (knitting, sewing, etc). I've figured out that taking photographs of patterns and family photographs with my trusty Canon 7.1 Megapixel camera is faster and easier than using the HP scanner I got for my parents some years ago, but I have a ton of work to do. The recipes, I think I need to type (I'll be posting them to my IJ with the tag "recipes"). But the knitting patterns are really, really fussy to type and I just don't have time, so I'm photographing them. I really, really don't want to have to worry that the pattern Mom has always, always used to make personalized knitted Christmas/Yule stockings might be lost to the vagaries of time, or that we lose the Wacky Cake recipe that Mom learned from her Depression-era Grandmothers, and I feel the same way about the knitting pattern she used to make childrens' mittens when I and the various cousins and family friends' children were little. They were mittens that were puppets... dragons and badgers and skunks and oh, adorableness. We do still have these patterns, mostly legible even! But we've been depending on photocopies of photocopies of mimeographs of magazine pages, you know? It is a miracle that we still have any of these patterns, after the carnage of the smoke damage took so much. I am steadfastly trying to avoid kicking myself for not creating digital backups of all of these things sooner, because dammit, now I have to search the web for patterns Mom used to make dolls and stuffed animals for me when I was a child, and we don't even have a complete list of what's never coming back to us, because the cleanup crew apparently listed them as "n boxes of patterns" and similar, if they listed them at all. *little tiny snirfle* *squares shoulders, wipes eyes* I damned well better be able to find them, is all I'm sayin'. Because the idea that they're gone forever and ever? Is utterly unacceptable. I can refind, recreate them for my Mom. I know I can. Midmorning ETA: To clarify... I am now hunting down one particular sock monkey sewing pattern (which I believe will be findable, I just need to figure out from Mom which cover looks familiar (1958 or 1967 is most likely), and one particular doll sewing pattern (which is being near-impossible for me to find; hopefully Mom will be able to give me some small bit of additional detail when she gets home from work tonight to help my quest along). The doll's head and body are made from a tube sock with a layer of pantyhose over that to give it skin-tone, with muslin/cotton fabric arms and legs, and little dress pattern involves using a handkerchief cut on the diagonal as the fabric of its triangular apron, and the dollies have yarn hair. This pattern has got to be from sometime between 1975 and 1985, I just haven't found it yet... I believe that I have found the one other doll pattern I was specifically seeking earlier this morning; I'm hoping Mom can confirm that the one I've found online is the one we're trying to replace, since I don't think I ever saw the outside of the pattern envelope. Mom had an absolutely charming and wonderful habit of sewing dolls for me as surprises, for my birthday and for Christmas. Evening Update: The sock monkey book Mom had was in fact the 1958 printing, and the doll Mom made for me for my birthday all those years ago (with a dress for me to match hers) was a Holly Hobbie pattern from 1973 or so, namely Simplicity 6006. (Update to the Update: We have ordered them both from Amazon Sellers now.) I am still searching for the other doll pattern that uses the nylon over a tube sock for the head and body, and a handkerchief corner for the apron... Mom says it was a Woman's Day pattern, and likely a "send away for" one at that, and it could have been as early as the late 1950s, and as late as 1985 or so. If anyone has any leads on such a pattern, please send 'em my way... Side note: Are any of you using image hosting sites to archive photos of old sewing or knitting patterns? Mom lost most of her patterns to the smoke damage from the fire last summer, but many of the remaining ones are from the 1960s and 1970s and I can't imagine that anyone would come after us for copyright violations at this point if I use Flickr for this purpose, but then again, I really don't want my account to be suspended or deleted. Hrmm... Current Mood: busy |
| Sunday, December 28th, 2008 | ||
|
rivkat |
10:35p | Eight Crazy Nights, Old school edition Tell It Slant Rating: NC-17 Classification: XAR (remember that?) Notes: Set somewhere around the sixth season; peels off before Biogenesis, because I wrote Deny Nothing so long ago. Most of this story is ten years old. I wouldn’t have written Deny Nothing today, nor this, but Deny Nothing is out there—like the truth, I guess—and azephirin asked for “a month after Deny Nothing.” I found this on my computer, so it seemed like a reasonable thing to do to finish it up. Thanks to flourish for lightning-fast comments.( Motto: Tell all the truth but tell it slant-- ) Current Mood:  blah |
|
rivkat |
10:07p | FL knows all Quick query on behalf of my dad, before I post the last bit of Eight Crazy Nights. He writes: I once (within the past decade) read a "science fiction" novel -- I guess that's the genre -- in which an important plot theme was this: A person needing money sold a small body part, and prospered, but also found the sale altruistically satisfying. So, part by part, he sold off major body parts, to the point where he was reduced to a torso and head carried around by his close friend. In the end, a recipient of one of the body parts invents a technique for perfectly replacing lost body parts, so the donor is at the book's end restored to a full complement of body parts, mostly "artificial." Now, here's the question: Have you a clue about how to identify the novel? I googled "science fiction plots donation body parts" and didn't get anything useful in the first four or five screens. Is there a listserv/blog to which I might submit an inquiry? Any other thoughts? Can anyone help? Current Mood: hungry |
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rivkat |
9:31p | Eight Crazy Nights, mixed bag Yuletide rec: Teenage Suicide: Not the Worst Idea Ever: What if failing at suicide gave Ram a brain and Kurt a soul? (Heathers) For chase820( (Gossip Girl/BtVS) After law school, a bored Blair Waldorf ditches the UES merry-go-round for a job with the FBI/CIA/NSS pick-your-mysterious-law-enforcement agency. Her new partner? Faith Lehane. ) for cellia( (SPN) Pamela, colors and/or meeting old friends ) For maggiebloome( In “any of your fandoms”: Bondage Planet/The Thing With The Collar And The Scented Oil Is A Native Custom, Really. (Chuck) Not quite there, but I hope it qualifies. ) for shiba_inu( (SV/JLU) You've got somebody pulling Monitor Duty. Alert comes up that a League member is battling somebody. I suppose they watch stuff like this so they can send in backup if it becomes necessary. Anyway there's a fight and, while it's never really in doubt that the Leaguer will win the outfits are getting torn, there's a lot of sweating and grunting going on... ) for jakrar( My Own Worst Enemy: On the bright side, he finally understands Edward. ) For a lurker ( SV AU C/L as written by Octavia Butler? E.g. irresistible biochemical attraction or involuntary-yet-complicated servitude. ) for suzume_tori( (SPN/Firefly) Sam and Dean end up in the Firefly dimension. Dean meets Mal. Life is awesome. Bonus points for any angels that tag along (Castiel, Uriel). Mal as a (very disgruntled) damsel in distress who must be saved by Dean? ) And a SPN snippet for myself, inspired by rewatching S2: ( Because vampires are always fun ) Current Mood: bitchy |
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elke_tanzer |
6:30a | If you know middle-school-aged girls, buy them these books. You may have heard about them discussed on podcasts (Science Friday, anyone?) or news shows, heard about them on NPR, or maybe you read about them in Wil Wheaton's blog, and yeah, I have to agree... if you know middle-school-aged girls, buy them these books, or have them check them out at their local libraries: Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail and Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss both by the fantastic Danica McKellar. And yeah, it's cool that she and another student with their professor at UCLA proved their own new theorem while in college, and it's very cool that Danica is gorgeous as well as smart and that Hollywood seems to be aware of that and she is doing some independent directing work as well as yoga and ballroom dancing, and it's very, very cool that the official website of Math Doesn't Suck has a special offer whereby you can buy her books to donate to libraries in exchange for an autograph from Danica. Current Mood:  groggy |
| Saturday, December 27th, 2008 | ||
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elke_tanzer |
8:49p | Blu-Ray Reviews If you have a Blu-Ray player and a public television addiction and/or a nature show fetish, the following reviews may be of interest... In semi-related news... does anyone reading this journal routinely use Windows Media Center software in a computer with a TV tuner card? And if so, do you use it with a surround sound system? And if so, do you also use that same computer to play music with iTunes? *sigh* I am awash in new technology at my parents' place, and although I do love playing with their new toys... I am wishing I had a friend or a partner or someone similar with me this visit who was as geeky as I am (if not geekier) about this stuff, because HOLY CRAP this techie stuff is so great when it works, and it's frustrating as HELL when it doesn't do what you expect it to. I am still in the midst of rewiring and reconfiguring the home network, plus configuring and integrating the new systems and drives. I have no idea if I can finish everything on my To Do list by the end of this trip. I have no idea if I can even get all of this technology working together and stable so that if I am unable to visit again until Easter, things won't go utterly pear-shaped. YIKES. Anyhoo... here are my reviews of the Blu-Ray discs we've watched this week, while I've worked on an afghan I'm making for Mom... enjoy! Earth: A Biography -- Thumbs up. Lots of thumbs up. And we've only watched the first two episodes. But OMG some people are really crazy. Do not taunt live volcanos, Dr. Iain! Coral Reef Adventure -- Really, really lovely. And narrated by Liam Neeson. And it has a website with all kinds of information and ways you can help save coral reefs, which is really cool... http://www.coralfilm.com/ But OMG some people are really crazy. Do not taunt deep ocean pressure, Howard Hall! Australia: Land Beyond Time -- Interesting, beautiful and yeah, cute photography of kangaroos. I learned things I haven't before about kangaroos, platypuses (platypi?), and the strange flooding cycle that creates Lake Eyre... which surprised me, since having been raised on public television, I already know lots and lots of stuff. Over California -- Meh. It's edited to hop through the clips too fast... the shots are just too short, and the narrative is rather hokey. A friendly little note from Elke to HD filmmakers: If you're going to bolt a fancy camera onto an airplane or a helicopter, be sure you actually capture plenty of long, sweeping shots. Don't bother with a bunch of short little shots that don't last a minute (or half a minute, or a quarter-minute!) and then string them together with little clue about the motion of your viewers' eyes will travel over the screen. Actually... now that I think about it? Most of the vids I've seen at VividCon over the years had better, more lyrical, lovely well-crafted motion-based editing than this thing. Find a VividCon vidder and get to know their work, HD filmmakers!! HD Moods: Beaches -- Meh, but not horrible. Just... meh. These HD filmmakers need to learn some lessons in still photography composition. I can recommend some lovely fannish folks who do better nature still-photography composition than many of the shots in this production... Mamma Mia -- We love ABBA, and we love musicals, and Greece is gorgeous, and Meryl Streep is wonderful. Thumbs up! In general, we're finding that for us, anything nature-related or science-related created by PBS or the BBC on the Blu-Ray format is likely worth the time and money to watch (and rewatch, and re-rewatch...). The same is true of most of the Blu-Ray discs of commercial theatrical IMAX releases. The others? Not so much. In mostly-unrelated news, I continue to adore the folks who produce NOVA for public television. My parents and I caught a big chunk of Absolute Zero tonight and now I am nearly convinced that when I return to Burbank, I need to do something to get Casa Del Fandom the ability to watch live television, something that we have never had in the nearly four years we've lived there (yeah, really... we've never had cable, dish or even a functional antenna... we like our media in tightly-controlled doses of DVDs, with no commercials at all). Recently I've also caught an episode of Antiques Roadshow for the first time in years, which was highly entertaining. PBS, I LOVE YOU. And just when I thought I could not love PBS more? I stumble across the fact that some NOVA shows can be streamed online, including some short NOVA Science Now blurblets which are way cool, and the latest episodes of Nature are also available. I saw the full-length NOVA Ocean Animal Emergency on my parents' TV when I was here for Thanksgiving, and it was rather amazing. And sometime during my travels this past autumn, either here at my parents' place or in hotels, I managed to catch Nature's Under The Antarctic Ice, which was also amazing. YAY PBS! Fannish folks are awesome, by the way. Really awesome. We create all kinds of wonderfulness with our technology, whatever technology we have. I was finally able to download and watch the new multifandom vid One-Night Fandoms: A Tribute to Yuletide (by eruthros and thingswithwings), and oh, fandom! Oh, Yuletide!! I lack words to sufficiently convey my squee!!! :-D Current Mood: tiredCurrent Music: Carly Simon, Give Me All Night |
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rivkat |
6:11p | Eight Crazy Nights, night seven, SPN story: Fides A little different tonight: a seven-part story. Fides SPN, NC-17 For giandujakiss, who wanted Dean/Sam or Dean/Castiel! Preferably with any angst resolved happily! Double preferably Dean/Castiel resulting in Dean/Sam! I made her beta too, along with coffeeandink. I’m going to declare that this also satisfies mangokulfi's request for Dean/Castiel with side of jealous Sam, though it’s more like jealous Sam with side of Dean/Castiel. Because I never met a conduit I didn’t like, this also features Ruby.( It’d been years since Sam had minded watching Dean try to pick up girls. ) |
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rivkat |
5:49p | Eight Crazy Nights, night seven, shamash edition Because I'm not going to finish coffeeandink's story in time, I have an open slot, if someone wants to give me a prompt for the last night.for cellia( SPN, meeting old friends with Sam/Dean (or gen with Sam and Dean), first-born ) |