[28 Nov 2009|10:35pm] poisontaster [ mood | sad ] My mother passed early yesterday morning. If I am absent from LJ for a little while, this is why.

Day 28 [28 Nov 2009|10:03pm] ngaio [ mood | mellow ] OMG I hate this blinking Mastercard ad, a tumbler does not cost £4, an energy saving light bulb £6, or a reusable plastic bag £1 - if that's what you're spending on stuff you're going to need the damn card. Or alternatively, shop sensibly. Sorry, I'm not ranting today it was just that that advert came on just as Semagic opened! Today I have: Bought some cards to send out in the next few weeks. By the way, thank you to whoever has sent me a gold wrapped package and card, I don't know who you are because I want to save the package to Christmas day and I can't open the card without opening the package. So just - thank you - and I'll thank you properly on Christmas Day. Been charity shopping and bought some steampunk-able trousers. Looked for wellies for Sprog. Failed. If her feet were two sizes smaller or larger we'd have been fine but they aren't so we weren't. Bought a surprising number of pairs of knee-high socks. I'd love to buy tights but given the combination of both my height and my weight, plus my refusal to pay more than about £2 per pair of tights means I just can't get any. Ah well, tights are annoying anyway! Dropped my boots into Timpsons to be re-heeled. (And completely failed to remember to pick them up again - whoops?!) Had my contact lense check-up - everything's fine Picked up a prescription (don't ask - way TMI) Received through the post a) an appointment for an ultrasound (which luckily falls on one of the days I'd already booked off work, though I do slightly resent the loss of the planned lie-in) and b) a battery for my (old skool, actual film) video camera which we're going to use at The Steampunk Soiree in about a fortnight (oh God, it's in a fortnight, I need to plan outfits big time) Eaten a very nice pasanda and rice takeaway and watched Strictly Come Dancing ... mmm, mellow evening ... post comment

Day 27 [27 Nov 2009|09:11pm] ngaio [ mood | bitchy ] Today I have mainly been in a *really bad mood*. I wish I knew why, today was no worse than any other this week/month ... I'm just very *argh* right now. (And rather wanting to cry and/or other bad things.) So here, have a whole bunch of my pet peeves (and sorry that this is pretty much the opposite of Thanksgiving): People who don't recycle. I'm sorry but stop throwing cans and plastic and paper away - how hard is it to remember to recycle them? Relatedly - companies/offices (including my own) which have no recycling policy/facilities - we're trapped in one place eating and drinking and doing paperwork, please give us the ability to recycle our waste Bullies - I'm surrounded my people who bully others in a variety of ways and it's very very frustrating not being able to shake them and say *do you not see what you're doing?!* People who park in the bus stop space - where do you think the bus is going to stop to pick me up if you're in the middle of the available space, I'm not standing here for the good of my health you know Very nice people who are narrow-minded bigots. So annoying in several levels. People with a sense of entitlement and/or the very childish attitude that life should be 'fair' - it's like communism which is a perfect system if people were perfect but we aren't so it isn't. Gender biased everything. People who say 'I hate Christmas' but who refuse to change how they celebrate Christmas because that's not how things are More broadly - people who hate the situation they are in but refuse to change the situation (this one I'd better clarify, I know some situations are unchangeable but some are. For example I work with someone whose mother is ... odd ... and there's rarely usable food in the house, but my colleague doesn't go and buy her own food she just goes hungry and then complains. She's 25, it's perfectly possible for her to get a bus to the supermarket, or to walk, and to buy food. But she doesn't.) ... sorry. Tomorrow I'll be merry. post comment

[27 Nov 2009|07:51am] zing_och [ mood | rushed ] Thanksgiving for me was almost two months ago, but I want to tell you: I'm thankful for my new computer! More about this when I'm back from work. Almost the weekend! Whee! post comment

Fic Rec: Out on the Wire 'Verse [26 Nov 2009|04:29pm] beatrice_otter Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles was an awesome television show that was cancelled before its time, and ended on one of the most insane cliffhangers ever, second only to Farscape, only TSCC didn't get a miniseries to wrap things up. Fortunately, we have halcyon_shift, who wrote the magnificent series Out on the Wire. Starting just as the finale ends, These Things My Mother Taught Me (the first story) throws you right into the middle of a tense situation and things never let up. John Connor, in the future, must figure out how to survive in an apocalyptic future where no one knows his name and everyone's suspicious of how he arrived. Sarah Connor, in the past, must keep herself and Savannah alive while Skynet hunts them. Both of them, from opposite ends of the problem and little way of communicating, must work together to save the human race. And I guarantee you, you won't figure out the end until you get there. The writing is tense, surprisingly introspective, and completely in character. ( Snippet of the first story ) This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/154058.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Day 26 [26 Nov 2009|09:25pm] ngaio [ mood | thoughtful ] I love to bake. I don't know why I prefer baking to making actual meals, I don't have much of a sweet tooth really, will almost always pick crisps over chocolate, but I love to bake. Possibly because I resent meals and being hungry, and baked goods are a *treat* and therefore fun. I like being able to take stuff into work and feed the masses (did I tell you? entire tray/dish of brownies gone by 11am a few weeks ago - gannets the lot of 'em) and make people smile and enjoy the food. But it's not important food, you know, if people don't like it it doesn't matter because I'm not feeding them a meal which has to get them through a third of the day, whatever it is I make it's *extra* and fun. I have issues, I'm aware. Whatever! I make several standard recipes: Lemon cheesecake - this is a very very simple recipe which I've posted once before here and I love it because it is very very adaptable. Dark chocolate brownies - this recipe here. I have much appreciation for this site, it breaks down recipes in a way I understand. And this recipe is, say it with me, very very adaptable. I have added all sorts of things into this one, not sticking with nuts (though I've done nuts) but lots of different fruit, sometimes all at the same time! Last time I made them I had dried cherries, raspberries and strawberries in there - yum. I'm thinking of trying it nearer Christmas and taking out the vanilla essence and adding in some blackcurrant brandy. I used to make some simple cookies (a Jamie Oliver recipe) but I've gone off them recently and am planning on experimenting with different cookie and biscuit recipes a bit in the New Year. I also used to make a (forgive me German speakers for mangling this spelling) Marmorgugelhupf which was a ring cake marbled cocoa and rum cake with pale sponge with lemon rind/juice with a lemon icing which was a complete devil to make and I loved. But I lost the recipe. My problem now is that I don't know the basics, and the science. For example I've just made some chocolate fudge (using trulybloom's recipe - thank you (ps had to leave the marshmallow out as I can't get it here - sorry)) and now I'm wondering - if I leave out the chocolate do I need to add something else or will the sugar/butter/evaporated milk 'be' fudge in their own right? If I leave out the vanilla essence and add some blackcurrant brandy instead will it do something fatal to the consistency? If I use caster sugar, or light brown sugar instead of the granulated which I had on hand what difference will it make? (I have a feeling the only answer is experimentation and some very sugar-rushed colleagues.) But I would like, somewhen, to find a good explanation of the balance of ingredients required to make cake, or fudge, or biscuits, because the more I play the more I risk complete failure and if I don't know what I did wrong then I can't put it right and play even more. And I like playing with baking! post comment

Day 25 [25 Nov 2009|08:53pm] ngaio [ mood | tired ] I know I have several good topic suggestions left from when I asked a week or so ago and I am planning on using them but not tonight. Tonight I have worn my body out (well, tonight and last night) and my brain has followed. Today at work I got asked if I was OK by Allegra. And Hugh. And Lucy. (Lucy also informed me that I looked 'worn' which really, yeah, probably!) I'm kinda interested in exactly how I looked so bad ... did people expect me to produce an axe and start slashing at other people or myself?! Or was it more a case of any minute I may hide under my desk and whimper? Anyway it hasn't actually been a particularly bad day, or even week. No amazingly stupid edicts have come down from on high, the customers I've spoken to have been surprisingly mellow and helpful and appreciative, I've made some inroads into the mountains of paper which are my desk ... yeah, not particularly bad, especially compared to the last few months. Huh.::shrugs:: Dunno. I do know that in addition to the two days off I have early December where I'm heading to Oxford a-steampunkin' I also have an additional three days I need to take off before the end of December. Frankly I wanted to be able to carry them over to next year but the PTB have ruled that no leave can be carried over (a bit of a bugger for Wizard, my boss, who has 22 days left!) so I need to take three random days off in the next 5 weeks or so. Maybe I'll just have the next three Mondays off and have some long weekends. Possibly then I'll look less 'worn' and more ... something. post comment

Bedknobs and Broomsticks [24 Nov 2009|11:25pm] beatrice_otter Tonight some friends and I watched Bedknobs and Broomsticks, a 1971 Disney live-action film starring Angela Lansbury and David Tomlinson.  It was a favorite of mine as a kid, and someone had the Special Extended Anniversary Edition DVD (where they added in a whole bunch of cut scenes and scene bits back in). It's kind of cheesy, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I still liked it.  Also: it's very feminist.  It's Angela Lansbury as a heroic, dedicated, middle-aged single woman who saves the day and leads the troops into battle to drive the Nazis off, while David Tomlinson is the ditzy, plucky comic relief side-kick.  It's so totally a role-reversal from the stereotypical movie gender roles, and yet there's no snickering about it, no preaching, no false notes.  Both of them come off as real people, understandable people (if slightly exaggerated as befits a Disney movie).  Their roles in the film are natural outgrowths of who they are, and Angela Lansbury is definitely a woman and David Tolinson is a man and he's not threatened by her being a hero, he's inspired by it.  Also, there's a very low-key romance between the two of them, and when he chickens out and leaves, she's definitely disappointed ... but she sings a song about how she's chosen to be single because it means she doesn't have to spend her life worrying about other peoples' problems and gets on with her life.  And it's not false bravado, Lansbury plays it perfectly straight.  Also, the whole "middle aged romance"--they're neither of them spring chickens, they're not Romeo and Juliet, they're two relatively staid middle-aged people falling gently in love.  Not to mention, the special effects (of which there are many, both green-screen and wire work) are extremely good for the era, if occasionally slightly more psychedelic than one expects from Disney. On the bad side, the shorter version is better.  They cut a lot out, and none of it was necessary to the movie.  The long version really drags.  The only thing I'd keep out of all the scenes and partial scenes that they added back in is the song Miss Price sings after Professor Brown leaves, and it's pretty short. Also, I'm not quite sure about the exoticism of the Portobello Road dance sequence.  It's a very long dance sequence in the middle of the movie, set in London at a street market, that's mostly a variety of British soldiers and sailors on leave dancing with the locals.  There are different segments in different regional styles.  Most are from the British Isles, but they also have an Indian group and a Black group with steel drums do a segment apiece.  On the one hand, it's lifting up that the whities weren't the only ones fighting that war; on the other it's definitely got a vibe of "watch the exotic colored people dance!" All in all, worth the rewatch. This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/153637.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

Day 24 [24 Nov 2009|08:53pm] ngaio [ mood | calm ] mabiana suggested I write about my cat. So I shall! Actually I have two cats, brothers, who are around 11 years old. They are rescue cats who were abandoned, rescued, re-homed and then had to be rescued from the home because the woman who took them couldn't cope with them. We got them when they were about 14 weeks old and we went to the rescue place looking for little kittens (like a lot of people do) and these two ... one of 'em just decided we (especially Henry) were theirs. That was it. Done. So yes, two cats. One is ginger and white and I refer to him here as Thing 1 though I don't think it matters if I reveal that his RL name is Jacob. Or Hobbit. Or Hobbos, Jack Hobbos. He's the cat who rules outside, he has his territory and he patrols it religiously. Once when it snowed we could see he followed the exact same route each time he patrolled from the footprints in the snow. He's a very very purry cat and likes to sleep up my right arm onto my chest which makes typing tricky. His brother is Thing 2 who is black and white, has the longest whiskers in the world, and 'rejoices' in the name Isaac. Or Whizzle. Or Whizzle-kit.He rules the indoor arena. He is very very stupid and does not learn. He is the cat who fell out of the upstairs window three times in one weekend and still does fall out of the window whenever he's decided that's where he's sleeping. He also falls off sofa backs, tables, sideboards, the piano, the computer table ... you get the picture. While Jacob is getting slightly less reliable when jumping because I think he's getting a little old in the legs as it were, Isaac has never been good at any kind of physical activity. I would sympathise as this is very much my attitude too if it weren't for the fact he does not learn. At all. Isaac is Henry's cat. Entirely. I can feed him and stroke him but Henry wins his attention every time. Actually by virtue of the fact that my lap is almost always full of laptop Henry is the person of choice for both cats when they're in a lap (rather than a right arm!) mood. Often this results in one cat settling on Henry's lap and the other settling up his chest by sitting on the first cat. Surprisingly neither of them seem that fussed about being sat on by the other one. I don't know how they sleep at night because they're shut in the kitchen but I do know it involves pulling clean clothing off the airer and sleeping on it. Thus making us wash it again! Blinking cats! post comment

Hm. [24 Nov 2009|06:43am] dunv_i So surprisingly, getting more sleep than usual the night before makes pulling an all-nighter much easier. Sweet. post comment

Going, Going, Gone [23 Nov 2009|04:05pm] poisontaster Going to Chicago again. Things with my mom are worse and I can't not be there. I'll post when I can, but I don't know when that will be.

Day 23 [23 Nov 2009|06:41pm] ngaio [ mood | exhausted ] I am declaring today a skip day. I'm knackered, I have no brain power at all and am planning to go to bed at the same time as my nine year old which is 7.30 which is in just under an hour and boy does that seem a long time to have to stay up. I'll do an extra day on the end, 'k? post comment

Update on my grandmother [22 Nov 2009|11:53pm] amalthia I just got a call saying she died. My sister is going to let me know when the funeral is so I can try and make arrangements to be there. I think it hasn't quite hit me yet that she's gone. Edit: I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that's responded. I really appreciate the hugs. http://amalthia.dreamwidth.org/589745.html#comments 2 comments|post comment

Eek. [22 Nov 2009|11:31pm] poisontaster [ mood | amused ] For those of you who write, you know that point in a story where you just want to scream at it: "Why won't you just do what I tell you??" Yeah. There were going to be 75 chapters. Yeah, not so much. Getting rid of Mary-Louise, finding out about Bodhi, Jensen's mom…I was totes going to be able to cover those in a single chapter each. Ha. Yeah, not so much. I can't even begin to dissect how many scenes there are that I thought were going to go one way and, somewhere in transition, took a left at Albuquerque when they should've taken a right. Don't get me wrong. To date, La Muse hasn't led me wrong in these unexpected detours. I think the stories that have resulted have always ended up being stronger and better than my original conceptions. As well, it's a pretty common writerly phenomenon. That just doesn't make it any less annoying when it happens. And it doesn't make me feel any less like a maidservant trying to get her mistress into a dress that's entirely too small for her, fingers wrapped in the laces, foot planted firmly in her back and heaving for all I'm worth. I know where I want to go. I know that. But the scenarios that have evolved have done so in a way that makes it impossible to resolve them as quickly as I first thought I'd be able to. Which means I then end up adding things, trying to course correct and bring them back around to where I think they should be (which doesn't always work) and that means I generally hit up at a point where the two ends don't meet and I'm at a loss how to bring them back together. I just wrote myself off a cliff. I'm at a loss how to bring the ends back together. And I'll figure it out. I always do. The boys at the brain farm are always working. But having built up so much momentum in the last couple scenes, it does feel a bit like slamming face-first into a screen door and falling on my ass (I speak from sad, pathetic experience, here). And there's always that initial panicky reaction of, Oh crap. Where do I go from here? Me and the boys on the farm have some musing to do. post comment

Ugh. [22 Nov 2009|10:47pm] dunv_i I am so over this college thing already. Unfortunately, this college thing is not over already. (It is over for my boyfriend. In fact, I feel slightly bad re:that, because a week ago, when he announced that he was turning in his ED application, everyone, me included, said, "No, seriously. You?" post comment

Fic: A Kept Boy 75/? [22 Nov 2009|09:01pm] poisontaster [ mood | calm ] Fandom: CWRPS Pairing: Jeff/Jensen, Jared/Jensen Rating: Adult Warnings: Slavefic AU. Sexual, mental and physical abuse of adults and minors. Dark themes, adult concepts and language. Disclaimer: This is in no way a true story. Word Count: 2,900 AN: Master list of previous chapters found here. Cast of characters can be found here. Banner by the lovely and generous bloodquartz. Podfic version read by the amazing superstitiousme (found here, courtesy of the very kind general_jinjur). And don't forget the other really awesome stories to be found at whatwekeep. ( It's beautiful here. ) post comment

Some bad news for my family [22 Nov 2009|11:47am] amalthia I just heard from my sister that my grandmother on my mom's side of the family has fallen into a coma and it doesn't look good. :( I've known for a few weeks now that my grandmother was dying but I've been kind of trying not to think about it and distract myself because it's hard being thousands of miles away and being unable to do anything beyond calling to say hi. I'm going to have to look and see if there are any tickets for sell. I get the feeling I'm going to have to fly down to San Antonio sometime this upcoming week or next week. :( Assuming, I can find an open seat. I'm going to focus on homework now. http://amalthia.dreamwidth.org/589339.html#comments post comment

Harry Potter, Star Trek, Merlin, and Supernatural Recs + 1 Meta rec [21 Nov 2009|07:40pm] amalthia Supernatural Meta Supernatural Thoughts by faye_dartmouth I thought faye did an excellent job of detailing a bit of what's happening in SPN. If you're having a blast with season 4 and 5 I do not recommend this meta. For me it appealed because while I still watch the show I still miss season 1 and 2 of SPN and this post did a great job of articulating some of what I miss. (tags: recs-Meta recs-Supernatural) Harry Potter Theft of Assets, Destruction of Property by helenish (Draco/Neville) INSTANT REC!!!! I could not stop reading once I started! I loved the plot, character voices, and I really loved the ending. :) (tags: recs-HarryPotter Draco/Neville f4 length-medium author-helenish recs-instant!rec) Merlin The Knights Have a Thousand Eyes by stakeaclaim INSTANT REC!!! I loved the plot, character voices, and mostly I just loved seeing Merlin and author from the outsider pov and this had some funny moments! (tags: recs-Merlin recs-instant!rec f4 length-novel humor) Shadows of Truth by cat_77 (Gen) I had a blast reading this story. I loved the character voices, the action, plot, and how everyone pulled together. Good adventure story. (tags: recs-Merlin gen f4 length-10k_18k) Different perceptions by gonrie (Gen) I loved seeing Arthur and Merlin's friendship from multiple povs. (tags: recs-Merlin gen f3) Star Trek Reboot Terminal Point by posyvanilla (Kirk/Spock) I liked the plot and character voices. (tags: startrekbigbang Kirk/Spock recs-StarTrekReboot f3 length-medium) Repeat Offender by seperis (Kirk/Spock) I really liked the character voices and the plot. (tags: recs-StarTrekReboot f4 author-seperis Kirk/Spock) Supernatural A Surprise or Two by dreamlittleyo (Sam/Dean) This was very hot and her evilSam was perfectly ruthless. (tags: Sam/Dean recs-Supernatural f4 rape author-dreamlittleyo) Mistaken for Strangers by bellatemple (Gen) I really liked the original character and it had good character moments. (tags: recs-Supernatural gen f3) http://amalthia.dreamwidth.org/589274.html#comments post comment

Question to my flist? [21 Nov 2009|03:03pm] amalthia Is the term Redneck considered offensive? Because I use that term quite loosely describe a lot of guys in the south, especially in Texas and someone pointed out to me recently that it's considered offensive. So it was kind of a surprise to me because I'd always considered it a descriptor for anyone that likes fishing/hunting, beer, and big trucks. And may or may not be uneducated. EDIT: the masses have spoken! :) Based on the responses it's safe to conclude that yes using "Redneck" can be offensive so I should only use it with good friends and family, or if I really want to insult someone. Thanks everyone who responded! http://amalthia.dreamwidth.org/588975.html#comments post comment

Ah, those little annoyances. [21 Nov 2009|06:31pm] beatrice_otter Even the weekend before Thanksgiving, there are still tourists in Gettysburg.  You know how I know this?  Because the idiots can't figure out how to drive in a traffic circle.  It's really very simple.  If there's a car coming across the circle, wait your turn.  If there's a break, go.  Don't get half-way out into the circle, then realize there's a car coming, and stop.  If everyone drives responsibly, it's a safe and efficient way of handling an intersection.  If they don't it's a mess.  It was a mess today. The Christmas tree was up in the town square already.  And see point #1, it's not even Thanksgiving, yet. I hate, hate, hate shopping for any kind of pants, but particularly jeans.  It always ends with me trying on a bazillion pairs to find one that fits.  Apparently, I have a small waist for my size (or I have a big butt for my  waist size, but I much prefer the small waist, you know?).  So if I find a pair of pants (particularly jeans) that are big enough to get over my hips and butt, there's usually a huge gap in the small of my back.  And my torso is long enough that low-rider jeans are too low, so I can't solve the problem that way.  When you've tried on every single pair of jeans in your size in a department store and none of them fit, that's frustrating.  I ended up having to go to the Spawn of Satan (aka Walmart).  But at least I found not one but three pairs of jeans that would work.  Which was good, because I was down to one pair fit to be seen in public.  And the winners are: Signature by Levi Strauss and Co. Totally Slimming at Waist, Riders by Lee Comfort no-gap Waistband and Riders by Lee Slender Stretch Mid-rise boot cut. On the bright side, only in Gettysburg would you see two ladies in Civil War clothes in the womens' changing rooms at Walmart.  And I now have jeans! This entry was originally posted at http://beatrice-otter.dreamwidth.org/152722.html. Please comment there using OpenID.

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