Elegant Pi

Smash

2012-04-17T06:29:25Z

Lately, I've been watching a show called Smash on NBC. It got a lot of comments when it was being advertised: "OMG, it's totally copying GLEE" and so forth. I was skeptical (which is pretty much every tv show these days - I've got "trust no network" tattooed on my face at this point), but we recorded it to dvr and watched the first episode. Since then, we haven't missed a single Monday.

Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough, but I'd love to see more conversation about this show, because it has SO MUCH to offer. It has a cast of several well-rounded and, for the most part, complex characters.
It features a deep, loving, platonic friendship between a gay man and a married woman who are song and script writing partners.

It has a canonically gay character whose gayness is not a pivotal plot point, yet he is show to have an active dating life that has its ups and downs.

It has a canonical gay character of color.

It has strong women, driven women, talented women, women who make good choices, women who make bad choices, women who own their choices, women who take responsibilities for their choices.
It has women who are friends.
It has women who are professionals.
It has women who are successful.
It has women who are rivals.
It has women who are rivals who are also friends.
It has women who are rivals who form alliances and their own particular kind of friendship.
It also has Anjelica Huston.

It has unwise relationships and sweet relationships and could-be relationships, budding romances, fading romances, hidden romances.

It has gorgeous voices and fun songs and sometimes silly song sequences.

It has cheese, and it has something that feels very real.

It has. so. much.

Let me tell you a little bit more about the plot. The two writers/composers - Tom and Julia have been taking a break from doing a job that they both love so that Julia can devote some time to her family and hopefully get through the process of an international adoption. Suddenly, an idea drops into their lap - a musical about Marilyn Monroe - and it proves too much to resist. Despite it probably being a bad idea, they launch into the project, meaning to keep it a secret.

Tom's new assistant, Ellis, uses his phone to record Tom and Julia singing one of the songs they wrote and emails it to his mother, who posts it to YouTube. Suddenly, everyone wants to know about Marilyn the musical, and Tom and Julia reluctantly put together a team.

Anjelica Huston's character, Eileen, signs on as a producer, despite being in the middle of a rather messy divorce. Derek, a cantankerous, been-there-done-that stage director is convinced to join the team, despite his and Tom's past differences. Karen Cartwright and Ivy Lynn compete for the part of Marilyn; Karen as an inexperienced ingenue, and Ivy as a girl who has been waiting a long time for her big break.

Everyone is passionate about the Marilyn project for their own reasons, and in putting together a workshop, it becomes the focus of their lives and intertwines them in some very intense ways. Ivy and Karen start out as rivals but form an uneasy friendship as time goes by.

This show is so big that it's impossible for me to hit every point of it, but here's a list of things I love.

Karen (played by Katherine McPhee) and her voice.

Eileen and her sassy, vulnerable way of handling things, and how she's willing to do just about anything to see this production all the way to Broadway.

Tom and Julia and their relationship. Their dialogue is just filled with all the snappy, almost-inside-joke things that close friends say to each other, and when things go bad, they have each other's backs. They pick each other up and just hold on. Love it, love it.

Derek. I haaaated him at first - because we're meant to hate him at first. But as you get further into the show, you see so many different sides of him. Where we are now with Derek - I absolutely adore him despite his faults. He's grumpy and brilliant and everything I love about people who have a passion for doing something well. I've also been loving the way he's sort of been losing his mind over the production, giving the show writers the opportunity to write these weird hallucinatory sequences that end in Derek with a "freshly kicked in the balls" expression on his face. Priceless.

Ivy and Karen. The writers could so easily have made their relationship a catty, ugly mess, but instead have shown two women in the hyper-competitive, highly stressful world of stage acting who put aside their differences at critical times in order to help each other out. Neither one is a villain or an angel, and I love this portrayal of talented and complicated women whose lives cross in different ways.

Julia herself. She's a writer, and I relate to that in many ways. She's intelligent and vulnerable and she makes a huge, life-shattering mistake, but she doesn't shake off responsibility or make excuses for herself. She owns it.

I could say so much more, but there would be massive spoilers. It's true that the show has its share of cheese - you can't have musical numbers without a little cheese. But it doesn't take the cheese to anywhere near GLEE levels. It just seems to me that this show offers a lot that fandom is often asking for - canonically gay characters whose gayness is not the whole point of their character; gay characters of color; strong women who have friendships (many, many scenes easily pass the Bechdel test). If you love music and great characters and storylines, give Smash a try! If you're watching it, I'd love to chat with you about it!

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GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS? THAT'S RIGHT, WHITE COLLAR SEASON PREMIERE DAY!!!

2012-01-18T06:11:06Z

I still haven't answered all my comments from the holiday ficathons, and I wasn't going to post until I had done that (hell, I didn't even do a Yuletide reveal or rec post, BUT I WILL EVENTUALLY), but WHITE COLLAR PREMIERE GETS A SQUEE ENTRY.

BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE THE CHRISTMAS WHERE YOU ASK FOR A PONY AND KNOW YOU WON'T GET IT BUT THEN YOU TOTALLY DO. It's like, your parents bring the pony INTO YOUR ROOM and IT NUZZLES YOU AWAKE and you're like OMG I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW.

( Peter and Neal are going to kick your ass. )

And no one made Neal eat lemon chicken all by himself in a corner. The end.

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Dear Yuletide Writer

2011-11-16T23:54:20Z

This is indeed the most exciting time of year!

First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you for writing a gift for me! <3 The thing I want most of all is for you to have fun writing a story that speaks to your heart as much as it speaks to mine.

( Likes, dislikes, specifics, and such )

That's all I can think of for now, and I hope this is helpful and not too very long, or too much information. :) Happy Yuletide, and happy writing!

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White Collar Finale

2011-08-10T05:01:46Z

( It's all spoilers, all the way down )

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Mozzie, Marty

2011-08-04T08:00:23Z

It's one of those insomnia nights, and I decided to watch a couple of episodes of SG-1 because it's my comfort food. I'd forgotten how early in the series (season 4, "Point of No Return") Willie Garson's character Marty shows up. The character of Marty has soooo many similarities to the character of Mozzie - it's like watching a young Mozzie, in some ways.

Anyway, I'm at the beginning of the episode, and conspiracy theorist Marty has called for a meeting with Colonel O'Neill, threatening to reveal everything about the Stargate program. So O'Neill goes to meet him at a diner, Teal'c poses as a cook in the diner to man the surveillance camera installed in the order ring, and Daniel and Sam are in a van, watching tv monitors.

Daniel: "You know, I've never been on a stake-out before. Shouldn't we have, like, donuts or something?"

Y'all, I've totally forgotten almost everything about this episode, and all these little bits of dialog have been lost to my memory. I'd totally forgotten about Sam and Daniel's "stake-out". I was already thinking "van" and "White Collar" because of Marty. Then Daniel's line made me spit water all over my keyboard. Because all I could think about was the White Collar van crew and their tuna fish and deviled ham. And then it was all down hill from there because I am apparently a crossover fic addict.

So, yeah. I just wanted to share that little bit of silliness. Now back to your regularly scheduled insomnia.

ETA: SAM, WITH THE LOCK PICKING. *dies* (Seriously, I need to do a real SG1 rewatch - soooo many details I've forgotten...)

ETA 2.0: JACK GIVING TEAL'C QUARTERS FOR THE "MAGIC FINGERS" BED AHAHAHA. How did I forget all of this?

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White Collar + My Little Pony

2011-07-30T03:18:44Z

So, someone put together a My Little Pony generator (warning: addictive). Since I just finished watching the latest White Collar episode (MY HEART, SHOW - YOU SQUISH IT), I had to put Neal into pony form. And immediately, my brain began contemplating fic. I cannot write any other fic until I finish my ABB draft. >.> But here, have pony!Neal, just for kicks and giggles. I hope they add ties to the "accessories" section, eventually.

( Eventually, I'll get around to pony-izing the whole cast... )

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Well, crap, it's 3a.m. or something like that

2011-07-23T09:03:22Z

I maybe shouldn't have had all that coffee.

I have to drive to Sulphur, La. tomorrow. In the past three days I have driven there and back again four times. ;_; (Dad is in the hospital there - long story, maybe later. My life, it is all hospitals, drama and doom.)

So, I just want to acknowledge that I have eleventy billion IOUs to so many of you. People to congratulate on pregnancies and engagements and marriages and graduations, projects that I have undertaken and then neglected (I am so sorry)... I WILL WRITE ALL THE EMAILS, ASAP, I swear! But in the meantime, I am thinking of YOU, and you know who you are, or if you don't, you will soon. I love you. And you, and you, and you, and you, too! And I hate that I've been so out of touch.

And also, there are so many of you who are reading my journal as I'm reading yours, and I don't feel that I know you as well as I ought to, and maybe you're wondering who the heck I am, and I have a deep desire to know you better (in a hey-journal-friend way, not in a creepy way). So I may post some participatory memes in the next week or two, for anyone who might want to participate, just to create a mechanism in which to get to know all of you fabulous people better if I can, and let you get to know me, if you want. ^_^

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A brief post on White Collar

2011-07-23T08:07:59Z

Mostly, sholio is to blame for my sudden onset of rabid White Collar fannish-ness. In reading her posts about this series, I became mildly intrigued, and when I saw season one going for $15, I picked it up. And the first episode led to marathoning our way through the first season and paying full price for the second season because 2-day shipping from Amazon was too long to wait.

It really is some of the best television I've seen this year! I've caught up on season 3 (all but episode 2) from my parents' OnDemand, and I'm going to get the s3 eps from iTunes for David to watch. And we're DVRing the rest of the season, of course!

I wish I had time to make an enormous post on all the things I love about the series, but I've got some... stuff going on that requires me to get up earlier than I would like. So, maybe later, although I make no promises since I've been a truly crappy journaler lately. In the meantime, general bullet points! And then some spoilery musings under the cut.

Jeff Eastin is a Frank Abagnale fan. He HAS to be.

EL AND PETER FOREVER. Seriously. They are tied with Sheriden and Delenn from Babylon 5 as my favorite tv couple. I love everything about them, as individuals and as a couple. I love, love, LOVE Elizabeth's intelligence and the way she so easily navigates the currents of Peter and his job, and the complications that Neal brings into their lives. She is awesome. And I love Peter for his genuine goodness and honor and rightness without righteousness. I love that he is always, always willing to see the good in people, the possibilities. ♥♥♥

I can really get into the Elizabeth/Peter/Neal OT3, but ONLY in future!fic when Neal is out of the anklet and truly free to do his own thing. My interpretation of Peter's character is that as long as Neal is in his custody, the power dynamic between them being unequal, Peter would never enter into any kind of relationship with Neal. Nor would he bring Neal into his and Elizabeth's lives so long as any doubts about Neal remain. And, canonically, Peter has a LOT of doubts. But I do love putting the three of them together under the right circumstances almost as much as I love Peter/Elizabeth.

Mozzie and Elizabeth's friendship. So. Adorable!

Mozzie in general. David and I called him "Marty" through the first half of season one. The actor gives us Stargate SG-1 nostalgia! Marty was a favorite of ours.

The playfulness of the whole cast. They all have great chemistry.

The writers know how to sell the material. There have only been a couple of episodes where I had suspension of disbelief issues. Leverage needs to hire some of these people. Oh, Leverage, I have so many thoughts about you, but I'll save them for another post. The White Collar writers turn out consistently good stories and great dialogue. And believably human actions and reactions.

( Some thoughts on Season 3 and where it's going )

Conclusion: Love the show.

Also, crossovers with Castle are an absolute MUST. There are so many ways the characters' lives and the show stories could intersect. And so many ways for Detective Beckett and Agent Burke to bond. I have one quick rec for this. My soul, it cries out for MORE.

Five Ways Crime Does Pay by celli - Impossible to read without laughing loud enough to wake the house.

"Jimmy Ellery!" Castle said, jumping up and holding out a hand. "I haven't seen you in years. How are you?" He turned to Beckett. "He sold me that Lorado Taft bust."

"You sold him what? As who?" Agent Burke rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, then back down again. "Allow me to introduce my consultant, Neal Caffrey."

Castle froze, his hand still held out in front of him. "Neal Caffrey the con artist?"

Caffrey tilted his head in an aw-shucks gesture. His hat remained tilted rakishly on his head.

"Neal Caffrey the forger?"

"Alleged forger," Caffrey said.

Burke groaned.

"Awkward," Ryan muttered.

"Oh, my God," Castle said. His face lit up, and he reached out to Burke and shook him by the shoulders. "I got conned by Neal Caffrey!" He let Burke go and grabbed Caffrey's hand. "This is awesome."

Burke looked at Beckett. "I don't even know what to say to that."

"I never do," Beckett said.

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Teyla Thing-a-Thon!

2011-06-20T05:15:49Z

In keeping with my "get more involved with fandom" goal, I'm signing up for the Teyla Thing-a-Thon 2011. Teyla is one of my favorite SGA characters. I absolutely love writing her and want to write more Teyla, so this is perfect. Sign-ups close tonight, so I just squeaked under the wire, but here, have a banner anyway.

I've missed a lot of the other ficathons but am enjoying the fruits of others' labors... I need to go read all of the tasty-looking things at sga_genficathon, for starters.

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Summer Goals

2011-06-20T03:29:01Z

I have not been a very posty poster lately. Dad has been in and out of the hospital, and he's there now, poor thing - not only in over Father's Day, but he has a procedure tomorrow that requires him to be on a liquid diet. So, not even a morsel of cake! We're having a do-over next Sunday.

As for me, I've been in sort of a slump. This is the way it goes: things seem to get a little better, and then BAM! Something awful happens, again. The more it happens, the worse I feel, and the more depressed I get, and the harder it gets to just get out of bed in the morning, take a shower; all the stuff that should be easy and automatic becomes a big damn deal. I'm trying to get past that, though.

I decided that I would not be able to do summer courses. I'm too tired, and I needed recovery time to get back on my feet, to get rid of the brain fog that comes with depression. And things are starting to get better, now. I don't feel rageful like I did a few weeks ago, I don't feel so gloomy about my own prospects and abilities, and I don't feel that "what's the point?" feeling that makes everything so much harder. I've been reading again, and my enthusiasm for math has returned, finally. For a while, I thought I just wasn't going to be able to do math or science anymore. I've had a lot of stumbling blocks thrown at me that were in no way my fault but that I failed to manage in a productive way. I'm so far behind my original plan that it takes my breath away to acknowledge how far I have yet to go. For a while, I had given up on all of it; just wanted to get my M.A. and call it quits. But I've been reading Dr. Feynman's books again, and I went back and read through some of my favorite parts of Greene's The Elegant Universe, and it was like, "Oh, yeah! That's why I started all this in the first place!"

So, I feel renewed. And now that Dad's OK, and also now that I've sort of made my peace with what will eventually happen, I think I can follow through without further serious disruptions. I can't make everyone's problems my problems, you know? And I don't have to feel guilty that I made this time for myself to do what I want to do with my life, even if there are certain people in my life who have tried to make me feel guilty, who have tried to imply that by trying to keep up with my schoolwork, I'm slacking off and not contributing what I should. People who think that since I have free time, I should give it up to them. People who want to lay problems on me that they themselves created but don't want to take responsibility. I didn't create these situations. It isn't my fault, and, while I'm willing to help, I'm not going to shoulder all the burden, and I'm certainly not going to allow myself to be punished for other people's mistakes.

So, in lieu of taking a course or two, I've set myself some goals for the summer. I don't know if I'll achieve them all, but I'm going to give it my best shot! Some of them are essential, others not so much. All of them will be fun. :)

1) Finish my Atlantis Big Bang story by the July 27th deadline. This is coming up quickly, so it's on the top of my priority list.

2) Work through the Single Variable Calculus lessons from the MIT OpenCourseWare site. There are lecture notes and video lectures, and the course covers the material that is split into Calculus I and II here. So I'll earn myself a much firmer foundation in Calculus, and I'll be better off when I start CalcII again this fall. I think I'll do the online course.

3) Work through the Fundamentals of Chemistry course. I am so pissed at the number of times I've had to drop Chem I. Last summer, it was due to the death of a friend. This past spring, it was due to all the stress with my dad's health. I'm going to try again this fall, and I intend to have it all under my belt so that my biggest worries will be the labs, not the course material. Chemistry is so easy at the fundamental level. It's mostly memorization. I just need to actually meet the course attendance requirements and finish the labs on time.

4) Study to take the exams for a QKA certification. This is a weird one! David and I have been talking about what I can do to earn a little extra money. Now, he works in the pensions field, and some of the stuff is definitely work I can do. With a QKA cert (meaning I'm qualified to administer 401K plans and the like) I can probably pick up some part time work that will more than cover my tuition and fees. Also, when David eventually sets up his own business, I'll be qualified to assist. I'm quite liking this plan.

5) Filling out my observing notebook and earning some of my certificates. This is a great way to become familiar with the night sky. It's not actual astronomy - it's stargazing - but it's still very useful. Plus, FUN.

6) Attend meetings with the JSC Astronomical Society AND get my membership for the Houston Astronomical Society and attend their meetings, too.

7) Start making a plan for my website/blog, and then try to make at least 3-4 posts a month. I need to write better essays, better articles, and be a better blogger in general. I want to join in the conversation on so many different topics! I've been sitting silent on the sidelines for way too long.
7b) This has a b) part to it: I want to be more active on Dreamwidth and get to know you lovely people better. We're in each other's circles, but there are many of you that I don't really know, and I want to change that.

8) Be more active with the OTW, and put in some volunteer time.
8b) Be more active in the ARG/transmedia conversation and activities.
8c) Be more active in fandom. I love fandom and the people in it, and I'd like to get off the sidelines and jump into the thick of things. :)

9) Make a plan for my capstone project for the M.A. degree - this is also essential, since I've got to start working on it this fall.

10) Do more photography. A LOT more.

11) Cross off every item currently on my to-do list. I won't add any more items, but I want this list CLEARED.

And I think that's quite enough for one summer, don't you? What are your plans for the summer? What have you got going?

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Female Nudity

2011-04-26T15:47:45Z

I love it when someone eloquently articulates something that I've felt but haven't been able to put into words.

Erykah Badu: June/July Cover Story [Pg 1] | VIBE

First seen on The Angry Black Woman blog.

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Daenerys's Wedding Night, or This is Not a Rape Scene

2011-04-25T15:10:12Z

So, I watched the first episode of Game of Thrones. It was OK - I liked some of the cinematography, and I had no trouble following the plot, even with all the threads they introduced. I was not pleased with the Breast Parade, but it's HBO, so yeah.

What I thoroughly did NOT enjoy was the rape scene at the end of episode 1.

( mild spoilers for Game of Thrones episode 1 )

I have a problem with rape of women shown for entertainment. I did in passing think, "Maybe there is some significance to this scene, to the story." So I went to the internet. What I found made me even angrier. In fact, in the book, the wedding night scene was very much NOT RAPE. Khal Drogo ASKS her for permission to have sex with her. He is not forceful with her, and from Daenerys's point of view, he is gentle. She is a willing participant in the sex. She gives the final assent. SHE SAYS YES. It is implied in the scene that Khal Drogo would not have gone forward if she had been reluctant. I'm not making excuses for the fact that here is a story about a girl sold into marriage and forced into a wedding night that she didn't want, but when it comes down to the actual sex, it's clear that she is interested and aroused. By her "Yes." and her actions at the end of the scene, her choice to experience the sex is made quite clear.

So why, I have to ask, was that scene changed from consensual sex to rape? Did the producers think rape is more entertaining, that having Daenerys consent was just... boring? Or are they asking us to buy into the idea that "rape is love" or that women who are raped will eventually grow to love sex with their rapist if he keeps at it? I don't know what their motivations were, but I don't feel that I can trust this tv series not to show rape or violence against women as something normal or desirable.

So, here (with thanks to sheafrotherdon for the transcription) is the wedding night scene straight from the book.

( Compare and Contrast: Daenerys's wedding night scene, straight from the book )

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Hey, y'all! Missed you! <3

2011-04-11T04:07:05Z

I am such a bad journaler. I'm a worse blogger, though. So, some updates, and things? I am weeks behind the rest of the internet right now, but due to circumstances, I find myself with extra free time on my hands, so I'm catching up slowly.

AO3:

Subscriptions! I'm super-excited about this feature at AO3! Everyone else has already blogged about it, so I'll just post the link to my neglected account. I have fic in the works, and now that I have some time, I may actually finish it. I'm at ElegantPi on the AO3. I also need to go around and gather up subscriptions to all my AO3 favorite writers. ^_^

I missed the March donation drive for the OTW, but I will be donating next week.

Epic Exciting News!!! Sailor Moon is coming back to North America in September!

You can only imagine the amount of flailing and tripping over things and squeeing and dancing around that happened here when I read the news about the Sailor Moon NA re-release. One might say that Sailor Moon was my first real fandom, the one I wrote fic for before I knew what "fic" was. I never posted the fic, and it's disappeared into ephemeral digital depths - probably on one of these 3.5 floppies that gather dust in a drawer near my desk. (I am most certainly not going to dig it out and post it to AO3, either, don't worry!) It was the first fandom that made me seek out other fans, in the IRC chat rooms and in the web rings. I collected pictures, I read stories, and I downloaded soundclips and whatever I could find that would come through with a dial-up connection.
( Sailor Moon memories ahoy! )
nevermore999 posted this wonderful essay about Sailor Moon and feminism which I love. It puts into words some nebulous feelings I've had about the Sailor Moon story for a long time, and although she's writing about the manga and I've only really experienced the anime, it still rings true for me! And it makes me this much more excited to read the manga. I can't wait for September!

Kodansha is also releasing the Codename: Sailor V manga prequel to Sailor Moon. Can. Not. Wait.

Other things I am working on/involved in:
atlantisbigbang - I'm signed up under elegantpi. Seriously hoping that the story writing goes smoother than last year, when I didn't finish! Of course, I had other lousy life stuff going on then, too. I'm hoping none of that will happen and this year will be a lovely, quiet, productive writing time. I've got part of my story all plotted out, and I'm looking forward to writing it.

Ellen Million's Torn World - I am so excited to be involved with this project, finally, after reading about it for so many months! Torn World is a "shared world", much like Robert Asprin's Thieves World novels. The canon is still developing, there are many talented writers attached to the project, and the world that is coming into being is endlessly fascinating, as well as its characters. It's not just another fantasy setting - the science level is somewhere around the late 19th century, so there are all kinds of cool, science-y concepts to play around with.

OK, I think that's enough writing for now. What have you all been up to, aside from what I've been reading in your journals lately? :)

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Fandom Diary: WIP meme thingy

2011-02-25T17:06:40Z

The meme has people posting file names of the WIPs, but some of my WIPs are on paper and haven't been transferred to digital yet, so I'll just post what I'm working on. More like "poking at" rather than "actively working on"; I would love to have a few days to do nothing but write fic and rewatch my favorite episodes of things. I have a little bit of time at the end of my spring break, after SXSWi, so maybe I'll do it then.

Sammeeeees:
Sammeeeees (and its sequel, Sammeeeees II) is an alternate reality game that ran in 2006 and 2007. It had such a great story. I dreamed about the Sammeeeees 'verse one night, very vividly and intensely, and when I woke up, I decided I really needed to reconstruct that dream as a fic. This is first on my list to finish, because I'd like to have it done by this summer so I can send it to my fellow Sammeeeees.

The Witches of Spoocheeeee - Peeps has invited all of the Sammeeeees to a party in his garden in Maine. He's also invited his elderly neighbor, who was once a jackal in the service of Spoocheeeee and who escaped. In the middle of the party, a young woman appears, and Peeps recognizes her as one of the Witches of Spoocheeeee. She brings a warning - that the Witches are reclaiming the power of Spoocheeeee and raising up the Eidolon once more.

Stargate Atlantis:

Rites and Passages - A Miko-centric story that was supposed to be a quick little scene of her and McKay sort-of-bonding over a piano and a piece of music. It is not a Miko/Rodney story - it's very, very gen. And it has morphed into a much, much longer story about Miko and her relationships with Atlantis, her boss, her co-workers, her lab, her work, her family, all of that. I love it a lot, and I'm being extra-careful with it, so I never work on it unless I can give it my 100% attention. I hope to finish this one by summer.

Babylon 5:

The Walk - A tag to "Objects in Motion". What John and Delenn saw, heard, talked about, and encountered on their 5-mile walk down the length of Babylon 5.

Conversations at a Bar - Lennier and Vir and their clandestine meetings at the B5 bar over the course of 5 years. I'm sure someone else has already written something of this kind; I may not finish it, but so far I've been enjoying writing it, anyway. So much character development to dig into!

Crossovers:
Most of these exist as ideas on paper.

Wheel of Time/SG1 - Because you know that if there's a Stargate anywhere in WoT-world, it's in the basement of the White Tower. And there are Portal Stones for switching between universes. Yeah. That's all I've got. I'm saving writing this for when I have a long stretch of time and several bottles of wine at my disposal. :D

SGA/Twin Peaks - Audrey Horne and Bobby Briggs both come to Atlantis. Bobby is a military guy (like his father). Audrey is a psychiatrist, part of Kate Heightmeyer's mental health team. Twin Peaks-ish things happen.

AUs:

Stargate SG1: Roller Derby - I've been scribbling notes on this like crazy. As nutty as it sounds, it's been a lot of fun to poke at. This is another one that I want a looooong stretch of time (but no wine) to just write all the way through. It's likely going to be 35K or more when completed. It's also a story that lends itself to showcasing the awesome women of Stargate.

That's all for now!

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LIKE QUICKSAND

2011-02-16T07:32:30Z

See that icon? That's Merlin, not telling me he told me so even though he totally warned me about what would happen if I took 3 grad classes and 2 undergrad classes and expected not to want to die before I even reached the halfway mark for the semester.*

I really, really, really want to write up a glorious entry about my new telescope. I got a telescope! It was not expensive, and it is made of awesome and win, and it shows me shiny things in the sky! I want to write about this weird thing that happens when you set up a telescope in a place where people will OMG SEE IT - they come flocking to you like ducks to bread crumbs, and it is an awesome thing. I want to tell you about how I'm gonna start logging my observations, working my way through the Messier catalog, and also how I cannot get enough of staring at Jupiter and its moons all in a perfect row like they were a couple of nights ago, and how SkyWalk is my new favorite iPhone app.

But I Don't. Have. Time. to tell you all the wonderful things about being a new telescope owner because I am DROWNING in homework. It's like fucking quicksand - the more I do, the faster I sink. :(

So instead of an awesome entry about The Social Telescope (which is the title of the entry should I ever have time to actually write it), here is a to-do list which is completely boring to anyone who is not me. To me, it is a panic attack. And this time, I am NOT blaming myself because you can ask anyone living with me - I have been working my ASS off to NOT get behind this semester. AND YET. HERE I AM. STILL BEHIND. At least I've lost ten pounds just from not having time to eat. :P

( To-Do List of Death )

And that's just homework. I also have some data entry I need to do for a volunteer thing, AND I need to finish my contribution project for TarValon.net or else I really am going to be the Eternal Accepted. Nor does this list include family stuff which... aaaaaaahhhhhhhhgggggggghhhh.

I'm trying to get everything that is due next week finished before Thursday night, because David and I are leaving for a weekend in Fort Davis after I finish running the activity on Thursday. We'll probably be on the road at 8pm and drive until we drop dead in some crappy hotel; then we'll get up early early on Friday morning and drive the rest of the way. We're taking along the telescope, of course - have I mentioned that this telescope is a thing of beauty? also, that it is awesome? - and we're going to trek up to McDonald Observatory for a star party, so I'm hoping for clear skies out there on Saturday night.

*Icon relevant only to Dreamwidth readers, because I'm not paying LJ for more icons. Just imagine Merlin not telling me he told me so.

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Stars and Other Shiny Things

2011-02-11T07:24:53Z

So, back in 2009, I made a scary-but-wonderful decision about the direction of my life. Before June 2009, I'd been in a comfortable but mind-numbingly boring job that caused me to become so depressed that I stopped writing, stopped being social, stopped caring about life for the most part. It was a learning experience - I learned that I am not happy or comfortable in an office environment or in a job that has an unvarying routine that involves few mental challenges. So I quit, and I decided to return to school as a graduate student. That wasn't the scary-but-wonderful decision, though.

That came somewhere around the middle of August 2009, when I started asking the question, what can I do with my life that will make me happy forever? At first, I thought it would be working in the transmedia industry, which is why I chose digital media studies for my graduate program. But that summer, I started to get a little bit scared. If I've learned anything over the years, I've learned to listen to those uncertain flutterings in my stomach that are the result of my brain telling me that something is not a good idea. I worried over how I would fit in the transmedia industry. I worried I wouldn't make a good freelancer, or that I would be a weak link in a deadline-driven, high-intensity environment. I worried that many of the people I knew who had jobs in this very new industry were already getting laid off as the economy kept on diving. I worried about putting myself in a position to be unhappy again, this time with even worse consequences.

So I had to decide - what could I do that would make me happy? Ugh. Too big a question to contemplate. So I just decided to watch a lot of television and hope that the answer presented itself to me on a silver platter. Haha.

Well, actually... It did.

Since then, it's been slow going. I had a couple of flubbed semesters - last year was just a rotten year, to be honest. In the spring, there were some family problems. In the summer, a friend died. In the fall, my dad had several collapses, which culminated into a nightmarish event in early December. (Dad is improving every day now, though - still in the hospital, but I believe he will be home in a month or so!!) I also found myself overwhelmed by some of the work. It took a while for my brain to adjust to the study of mathematics and science after being out of the game for so long!

As a consequence of several circumstances, I ended up dropping some of the pre-requisite classes I needed for the physics program in the spring and summer, so I was not able to enter the UHCL physics program in Fall 2010 as I had originally planned. BUT! I am still on-track to enter the program this fall. And here are some milestones that I've passed.

I passed Calculus I with a B. Wow?

I can do more with math now than I have ever been capable of in my entire life. Things that I remember being difficult are very clear to me now. Last week, I had a chemistry quiz covering problems in dimensional analysis, something that I struggled with once upon a time - I finished it in fifteen minutes with no hesitations. My grade was 100%. Amazing.

This semester, I feel like I have finally reached a place of balance in my academics. I don't feel like a "crappy student" - I feel like I'm moving forward and that I am performing well in my classes.

I'm struggling with some of the subject matter in Calculus II, but I'm not panicked about this. I know, from my experience in Calculus I, that I will be able to understand the material with time and a lot of practice and maybe some tutoring. I've never been this sanguine about failure subverted into a learning process. It's a big step for me.

I am one class and a capstone project away from completing my M.A. in Digital Media Studies. In the fall, I will be a full-time physics student.

I'm participating in designing projects for some of the digital media studies classes. It's pseudo-TA work that I can put on my resume.

I've already designed my capstone project and plan to begin production this summer.

I'm learning to program! Right now, I'm teaching myself Python. Programming is fun! I may have to learn C later (dreading dreading dreading) but I'm totally a Python convert thanks to Bruce and Michael.

So, that's it. I am on track to receiving my B.S. in physics in December 2013, if all goes well. I've already got my eye on the graduate program that I want: University of Texas' Graduate Program in Astronomy. They have an affiliation with the McDonald Observatory out in West Texas, and they have a strong research program in my area of interest: Extrasolar Planetary Systems. They basically have my dream program, and everything I do from here on out will be aimed at being an acceptable PhD candidate in their school.

This is an exciting time to be an astronomer! You may have heard about the amazing results recently announced by NASA's Kepler research team. We're making new observations about our universe as fast as we can refine and produce the tools with which we observe. I'm just as excited about this decision as I was in September 2009 when I first wrote about it. I really have come a long way since then. Two years ago, if someone told me I'd be spending half my waking hours studying calculus and chemistry, I would have laughed that person off as crazy. Now, I can't imagine doing anything else, and I can't wait to be a full-time physics student. UHCL also offers excellent astronomy and astrobiology courses, which I will, of course, be taking!

Tomorrow, I'm going to my first meeting of the JSC Astronomical Society, and I'm planning to begin an observing program later this month. The JSCAS has certificates for completing different observing programs. Since we've paid off my car, I'm going to purchase an entry-level telescope and begin with observing and recording the Messier objects. It's an excellent way to learn observation techniques and familiarize myself with the sky! Mostly, astronomy observations are made remotely - astronomers don't huddle out in the cold to get their data anymore. ;) But we still learn to observe by going outside and looking up. I can't wait to start earning my certificates and learning from people who love astronomy as much as I do!

I'm just... every time I think of my future as an astronomer/astrophysicist, I get the most amazing head-rush. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to do this, to change my life so completely. My husband and my sister have both been such awesome helps to me in this endeavor. They keep the kitchen clean, they bring me food when I'm too tired or too busy to cook my own, and they just generally take care of me and let me see to my schoolwork without making a lot of demands on me. I'm very lucky! And then there are my friends Bruce and Michael, who patiently answer my questions about calculus problems that twist my brain into painful knots.

Now that the bad things of last year are fading into the background of my memory, I'm still kind of tensed up and waiting for the universe to smack me down again. But I swear, I will cling to these classes by my fingernails and teeth. These things are non-negotiable: I am finishing my M.A. this year. And I am starting the physics program this year.

So, that's where I am in the process of becoming an astrophysicist. A little behind, but definitely not out of the game!

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Very Quick Yuletide Reveal Post!

2011-01-01T05:38:41Z

I have to be quick because my Mom is going to be coming back from the hospital soon, and I will need to make her a sandwich and then we will watch Sherlock (BBC).

This was my first ever Yuletide, finishing up my first full year in fandom. Any fandom, ever. I was often a fan of things, but I never participated in fandom the way I have participated this last year and a half - writing fan fiction, engaging in fannish discussions, seeking out fannish people. Fandom has been the bright spot of a rather terrible year, and Yuletide was the perfect end to the fannish part of my year - a bright spot all the way through.

I deeply enjoyed getting to know other Yuletide writers in #yuletide, and I enjoyed the squee and the suffering and the discussions and all of it. But most of all, I enjoyed writing the fics.

My fics are here:
Twin Peaks: In the Dark Night, Remember Me

and

Ursula Vernon - The Radish Wore Goggles: A Gift of Direction

Many of you know that my dad had a terrible collapse on December 7th, far from home, and that next week, I had to leave my home in Houston for Little Rock, Arkansas to help my mom watch over my dad in the intensive care unit there. It was a nightmarish two weeks the like of which I hope never to live through again. One of the things that made it bearable was to lose myself in the fic I was writing, that I was so deeply attached to. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't had the fic to turn to.

I've been in love with Twin Peaks from the first moment I saw it, most especially in love with Audrey Horne, Laura Palmer, and to a certain extent, Special Agent Dale Cooper. And others of the cast of course, but them specially. I was delighted to be assigned to write for someone who so obviously loved the show as I did, and who had written so many phenomenal posts on both the show and the character of Audrey and my favorite pairing, Audrey/Cooper, which had been planned as canon and got scuppered during the run of the show because Kyle Maclachlan a) disapproved of the pairing and b) was dating a cast member who disapproved of Sherilyn Fenn, if rumors are to be believed.

The story was meant to be a single scene. It turned into something huge - even bigger than what I've got on the page, there. I knew I'd never be able to finish the whole story in time, so I summarized enough for it to make sense and wrote the part that was most vivid in my mind and which was the part that I thought my giftee would like the most. I can't even begin to say how much fun I had getting into Audrey's head. I think Cooper got short shrift here, but this part really wasn't as much about him as it was about Audrey.

I am so glad that, with the Twin Peaks Gold Box edition being out there, people are being introduced to the series who have never seen it before. It's time for this series to re-emerge. I honestly believe that it was made ahead of its time and never got the acclaim that it richly deserved, even the very polarizing second season. And I'm so happy that I was assigned to write for someone who loves it as much as I do!

The second fic, "A Gift of Direction" came out of my love for the art of Ursula Vernon, who has been on my LiveJournal reading list for nearly 8 years. I came to know her work through the works and words of other dear artist friends who know and love her. Some of her art hangs by my desk (The Taxman, yo), and I was delighted to find a request for fic of her works! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to write one more thing for Yuletide.

It is lighter and happier than In the Dark Night because by the time I wrote it, we'd been able to return home to Houston with Dad (he was transported by an air ambulance), where he began to improve almost immediately. So I was more in the mood for whimsy and light-hearted romance.

Below the piece of art, The Radish Wore Goggles, which inspired the fic (by request of my giftee), Ursula wrote a little snippet of a story about an intrepid Radish who stowed away on a ship called The Golden Colander. I used the snippet as a springboard and expanded it into what I hope felt to readers like a tiny window into a vegetable-inhabited steampunk-ish world. I had a lot of fun writing it, and I'm so glad someone requested it!

OK, my mom just came in the door, so I have to wrap this up. I'll try to write a longer post later, and I'm happy to answer any questions! And I'll be along after midnight to answer the lovely comments on my fics. My first Yuletide has been wonderful and wonderous, and it saved me from complete and utter despondency in what has been a very dark season. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

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Brighter Things

2010-12-27T22:55:43Z

First, an update on my dad. He was transported by air to Methodist hospital in Houston (from Little Rock, oh god, what a nightmare place) and is doing so much better, although we have a long, long way to go as far as recovery. He's totally conscious and totally with us and will soon be off the ventilator, and guys, I can't tell you how much I can't wait for that because all I've wanted these long, long weeks is to hear my Dad's voice again. I've been dreaming of him almost every night. I'm hoping against hope that he will make a strong recovery and can at least go back to living a mostly normal life with my mom, at home. Please hope with me!

Bethany and I drove back on the night of the 23rd, also, while Mom and Dad flew. It's a long drive but an easy one. We're so glad to be home, and David is so glad to have us home. David's Mom is visiting with us for a while, and I don't even fret when she cleans my kitchen - that's how tired I am, lol! Mom stayed with us a few nights, but she's going back to her house tonight and will come over again tomorrow after being at the hospital. Poor Mom is so tired. But we're all going to be fine, I think. I hope.

And now, other things. So, it's not even the new year, but I've already got some projects in the works! I'm coming up on the end of my M.A. program. I've just got 4 classes left, and then the capstone project, which is what I'm beginning work on now. I'm not going to share too many details about it, because the shape and substance of it is going to change a lot while it's in development. I will need an audience, so I will begin promoting it before it goes live, which should be at the end of next November. I'm super-excited about it, and I finished the project proposal this morning, which I will present to my advisor as soon as the semester begins.

Now that I'm in a crisis-free period, I also need to finish two projects that I have been owing to people for several months now, that should have been finished and sent out last October. Hoping to have these two things finished and on their by the end of next week.

Tomorrow, I'm doing a photo shoot with my lovely cousin, for my first concept photograph that will involve a lot of post-production work in Photoshop. I'm super-excited! We're going to experiment with costumes, possibly levitation, and play with meanings and metaphors. It's going to be awesome. I'll post the results if I manage to do anything worth showing off. :)

Right now, in between poking at some of the scripts for my capstone, I've been reading through the Yuletide archive. I need to make a proper rec post, but I am just blown away by the sheer amount of AWESOME that I've read in the last couple of days. Right now, I'll just recommend that everyone go read the fic that was written for little me. It's a beautiful piece set in Heian Japan: Bangai (Apocrypha).

Reading the comments my giftee made about the fic I wrote (no link to until after the 1st, have to remain anonymous for now!) had me absolutely in (happy, ecstatic, proud) tears. She even went to her LJ and her tumblr and the Yuletide Love!Post to rave about it. It touched me so much that she loved it that amount, and it meant a lot because after reading through her tumblr I could tell she's a very intelligent, creative young woman, someone I'd love to sit down and have a cup of coffee with, and a long, fannish discussion about the fandom we both love a whole lot. :) That was the highlight of my Christmas morning: reading the gorgeous fic someone wrote for me, and reading the comments on the fic I wrote. <3

I've got some fic that I want to complete by the end of January, most especially an SGA piece centered on the character of Miko Kusanagi. What started as a little scene drabble that I wanted to jot down has turned into a complex character study, and I am having so much fun working on it. It just feels like I am never going to reach an end!! And plot and character stuff keeps popping up, demanding to be included, so it just gets longer, and longer, and longer... But I think it's going to be my very best SGA fic yet.

Speaking of SGA fic: I need to mention the lovely piece written for me by my sga_santa: Science Day, a "day in the life" story centering around Dr. Rodney McKay. It's plotty, science-y, and funny, with John and Rodney working together and snarking at each other, and a little bit of backup by Teyla and Ronon, and my favorite secondary characters Miko and Radek make an appearance here and there. It has a little mystery woven in that is pure Stargate-ness, and a great scene where Sheppard is all "No one messes with MY scientist!! >:P" <3

I think that's all for now. I'm about to go make two delicious French Silk Chocolate Pies for dessert tonight. We had turkey (cooked by someone else, the best kind!) last night, with green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. Tonight, it's leftover turkey with squash and sweet potatoes (and leftover casserole and mashed potatoes, yay carbs!)

And at 8pm, I've got a training session for VolCom at the OTW, which I'm looking forward to like whoa. :)

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Success!!!

2010-12-20T11:27:32Z

I FINISHED MY YULETIDE FIC!! IT IS 8300 WORDS!! I AM ECSTATIC, OVER-CAFFEINATED, AND IN NEED OF SLEEP, BUT I AM DONE!!

And peeking in the "gifts" section of my profile, I see that I already have a gift waiting. Someone described it as being like looking at wrapped presents under the tree - I think that's a fairly apt description. I can't wait, can't wait, can't wait to see what the Yule Goat left for me! :D

Am now going to beta a fic, then off to sleep.

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Things that help

2010-12-14T09:24:17Z

So, I'm hanging out in the lobby of the hospital's hotel. There is a computer here, and internet, and snacks, and coffee, and silence, and it is perfect for someone who can't sleep but who has two sleeping people in her hotel room. And the lady on duty came over and brought me a kleenex and gave me a hug, and then told me to stay as long as I liked and brought me a cup of coffee.

Things That Help:

Lurking in fannish spaces and fannish journals, reading back entries, especially the SQUEEEEE ones.

Re-reading fledmusic's Stargate Atlantis reminiscing post, and all the comments.

Reading fic, especially happy fic.

Working on my Yuletide fic. (I am trying to get it finished while there are no immediate crises. I'll drop out on the 17th if I have to, but until then, I'm going to keep scribbling away, hoping to finish the fic, because I love it and I want my recipient to have a chance to love it, hoping she won't hate it. ^_^)

Being proud that my sga_santa fic is already finished, hoping that my recipient likes it and that it's not too silly or stupid. I finished it the night before I left for Little Rock.

My final grade in calculus was a B+. Dude, that is something to SING about. I totally thought I was going to fail, fail, fail, right there at the end.

Discovering on GoogleMaps that there is an Indian restaurant down the street. If things are a) the same or b) improved tomorrow at the hospital, I'm going to celebrate with dinner and a movie (The Tourist, because Johnny Depp is hot). I've already decided that things are going to be improved tomorrow, so I look forward to nomming a lamb rogan josh with my mouth and nomming Johnny Depp with my eyes.

Somewhat calmer now, but wide awake, so I'll be here in the lobby for the foreseeable future, possibly until it is time to go wake everyone up for breakfast. I'm re-reading Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier, which I haven't reread since waaay before David and I got married, and which is even more fun and sweet now that I have been steeped in Indian culture for nearly six years.

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In which I am sad...

2010-11-17T09:24:26Z

So, I've got class pretty early tomorrow, and I'm unprepared, and I can't sleep, and I'm sick, and I'm sad. This whole TSA thing has been weighing heavily on my mind, and I'm outraged over this situation on behalf of all of us, but I'm also just horribly, selfishly sad for myself, too.

See, the thing is, I love flying. I love traveling. There are so many places in this world that I have not yet seen, so many people I haven't met, places and people not on this continent. I've looked forward to having disposable income again very soon so I could travel - but now, unless something changes with this whole TSA debacle, I won't get to do that.

See, here's the thing. I am not "prudish" nor do I have any religious restrictions to abide by, but my body is a private thing, and it belongs to me. I don't want to be seen naked by someone I don't know in some room somewhere, and I don't want to be touched in places that are private and sensitive. I'm perfectly OK with a pat down that doesn't involve squeezing my breasts or feeling my nipples or touching my genitals, but those things that I've just listed go to far. And despite the outcry, despite all the protestations of people who have endured these assaults on their privacy, the TSA is standing firm on its abusive policies, and they stand with the backing of our current government, at least as far as I've seen.

I cannot, in good conscience, accept these policies. I cannot submit my body to these kinds of violations, especially not after having been so long in the pro-choice fight to protect my right to own my body and make decisions about my body without government interference. Therefore, I can't fly while these TSA policies endure.

And I'm so sad about this right now, so upset, I can't even tell you. Because my mom and I had plans for so many trips abroad, and now I will never get to take those trips with her. I wanted to go to Malaysia with mon_enfant to meet tarlia, at last. I wanted to take my sister to Morocco, something we've talked about for years. My mom and I wanted to visit her old friend in New Zealand in the next year or two, and I wanted to go too, have a chance to meet curvature, and then maybe go on to Antarctica. David and I wanted to go to Japan, China. I had a huge, challenging trip planned for my graduation - 40 days of travel by train around Eastern Europe, Turkey, and the Balkans.

I can't look forward to doing any of that now. Not until I can fly without being treated as a criminal, without having my body and privacy and 4th Amendment rights violated by procedures that offer only the thin veneer of apparent (not actual) security.

Sure, there's lots of my own country that I haven't seen yet, and I'm fortunate enough to have a private vehicle. I can also travel by bus or train if I'm willing to take the time; but soon, these procedures will be implemented in train and bus stations, too. And government buildings as well, so that I will no longer have access to things that every citizen is supposedly guaranteed.

I know that this is small potatoes compared to what people experience in countries that have little or no democracy. But the fact that I once had the right to travel unmolested and have now had that right taken from me - I feel the loss of that right. Deeply, utterly. I feel trapped, I feel like things are only going to get worse from here.

Yes, I'm writing my congresspeople. Yes, I'm engaging in every form of protest available to me. Yes, I'm keeping my eyes open for opportunities to act. I know that many people are also upset by this, but then I hear the media quoting 80% public approval for these procedures, and I lose all faith in the idea that those of us who object will ever be listened to. Yes, I do have ideas about how we can improve security without subjecting citizens to the equivalent of a sexual assault, but who is going to listen to me?

I feel hopeless. I'm unbelievably upset about this.

Irrationally, I'm afraid I'll never see Paris again. I'm actually crying, thinking that thought.

I cannot even imagine what it is like to live in a country where one has not even the option of flying away, harassment or no harassment. I can't imagine, because if I feel hopeless over this, how must it feel to be forbidden to travel at all?

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We interrupt this crappy day to bring you some McSheppy Squee

2010-11-15T05:47:10Z

This has been the most frustrating day EVER for me. I have a video project I need to get done that requires an external microphone. The microphone I ordered online never arrived (I got my money back), but apparently, my camera does not recognize ANY external mics. Or, it recognizes that "Hey! You've got an external mic plugged into the external mic jack!" but it won't pick up any sound. Which, FUCK. I bought five different mics today, over a period of four hours (because none of the stores would let me test the mics with my camera before purchase, assholes, and no one in any of the stores could tell me whether the mics were compatible). NONE of the mics worked. So at this point, I'm pretty sure it's my CAMERA, which, FUCK. AGAIN. (yeah, the rest of this story... let's just skip on down to the squee, and let's not even GO INTO all this TSA BULLSHIT LEGALIZED SEXUAL ASSAULT that is giving me NIGHTMARES.)

So I decided I desperately needed a dose of SGA for a pick-me-up (combined with chocolate and ice cream and a bottle of wine). I retrieved the Season 3 DVDs from my sister, who has been rewatching the series again (I am so proud), and cued up "Echoes", since it's one of those episodes I've only seen once, maybe twice.

( OMFG, how did I ever forget how MCSHEPPY this episode is? And also, Teyla and Ronon have a super adorable Big Sis/Li'l Bro routine going... Warning: Unapologetic SGA SQUEE beneath this cut. )

So I am much cheerier (for the most part - I'm still very worried over my project), and my wine glass is empty, and I need to finish my Yuletide letter, so please excuse me, but if you want to come squee with me in comments, I will love you forever.

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Dear, Delicious Yuletide Writer

2010-11-14T08:54:48Z

Dear Yuletide Writers,

Because of the sudden illness of my father, I wasn't able to finish my letter in time, and I'm so sorry if that caused my writer any problems. :( I've been encouraged to finish and link it in case someone might like to write treats for my fandoms.

General things:

I love gen fic most of all. I do read pairings, and I enjoy romance, but I tend to like less couple-y stuff and more teamy or friendshippy stuff that really emphasizes the world and culture in which the stories take place. World-building, AU stories, character studies, introspective fic, adventure, mystery - all things that make me super-happy. Lively, witty conversation, affectionate characters, that sort of thing.

Things I don't like: fic that is too dark or violent; I prefer not to read anything above PG-13ish; I'm not into kinks, definitely not into major character death.

Fandoms Requested:

Heian Jidai | Heian Period - Sei Shonagon, Empress Teishi, Emperor Ichijo, Korechika, the rest of the court and etc.

A simple, elegant scene with Shonagon and Teishi would be lovely. One of my favorite moments in the Pillow Book is when Teishi comes over and asks Shonagon what she is doing on the veranda, and Shonagon answers that she is gazing at the autumn moon, and Teishi tells her, "That's just what you should have said." It was beautiful and gentle, and I loved it so! I wanted to read so many more moments like that. Little to no context is fine - just a snapshot scene would be lovely.

I'd also enjoy something more lively, like an outing or a festival, with Shonagon and the ladies of the court surrounding Teishi, or going abroad with her, etc. Sharp and witty dialogue, poetry, the works. Or a day where letters are coming and going, and something exciting is about to happen. Slices of life would be perfect.

EchoBazaar - any characters

I'm so open for any Echo Bazaar stories that almost anything will suit me. Let's see - I would enjoy a fic that is 3rd person, since so many of the ones I have already read are written in 1st or 2nd person. I'd like something with descriptions of places in the 'Neath, something atmospheric. It doesn't have to be too plotty - it can just be a scene, or a moment, or a memory. But I also like caper stories, and there is much capering in the 'Neath! Perhaps an adventure on an archeological dig, or an afternoon in Veilgarden. A University intrigue!

The Sorceress & the Cygnet - Nyx Ro, Meguet Vervaine, Laura Ro

This book is so dear to my heart, as is the character of Nyx. I also love Meguet a great deal, and I love Nyx and Meguet's connection with one another. I would love a Nyx and Meguet friendship fic, but I also would not mind the two of them as a couple! Nyx's magic and her relationship with magic is also of interest to me. The way McKillip describes the magic in her worlds appeals to me on a fundamental level - if you could recapture a little of that magic in a scene, I would die of happiness.

Ballet Shoes - Posy or Petrova, or all the sisters together. Gum, Sylvia, Nana, Madame Fidolia

I am most interested in Petrova as a grown-up young woman. I imagine her as an Amelia Earhart type, with a love of flight and mechanical things. I'd love to hear about what she was doing in her 20s or 30s, even see her with a love interest.

I'd adore a story about Posy in Czechoslovakia, too - a dancing story. Did she learn to speak Czech? How did she learn to fit with the culture of her new home and with the other ballet dancers? What roles did she dance as a young woman? What was her relationship to Manoff?

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NaNoWriMo Eve!!

2010-11-01T04:09:02Z

A blessed Samhain, a happy Halloween, and a joyous NaNoWriMo Eve to all of you!! :D

( I have a novel cover. And a synopsis! And that's about it! )

Over the many years I've participated in NaNoWriMo (some years more enthusiastically than others), I've learned some things about myself as a writer.

I am not a fast writer, and I should not try to be. I'm lucky if I get 400 words per hour. Anything over that is madness.

I do not do well with "seat of the pants" writing. I need to outline and plan. (which isn't happening this year, so: EEEEK!!)

I'm way more interested in the social side of NaNo than the actual writing side.

I really don't want to be a novelist. (No, I really don't - I want to tell stories in other ways, outside of the novel format.)

Writing novels makes me a better storyteller in any form.

This year, I've got the synopsis, some rough character sketches of interesting characters, a general idea of the conflict, a very vague idea of the antagonist and his motives, and a strong sense of the setting. I'm going to let it just come out as it comes out, but I have a feeling that if/when I revise this thing, I'm going to have to work very hard to keep it from sounding too Twin Peaks-y, because everything I have in mind for this town/place has too much in common with David Lynch's town/place. Ah, well. That's for the 2nd and 3rd drafts, if I ever get that far (and I probably won't, but I'm OK with that).

My main goal is to just let go and have fun with it. And enjoy the company of you fine people who are also mad as hatters in taking on this challenge. So, here's to NaNoWriMo! Cheers!

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WisCon 2011

2010-10-22T22:35:20Z

Up until about a month ago, I didn't know WisCon existed. If I had known, I would have been at least considering attendance! For those who don't know, WisCon is a feminist-focused SFF convention where many of the panels center around social justice issues. It is something relevant to my interests!

Unfortunately, the first thing I ever heard about WisCon was negative and in relation to the Elizabeth Moon/WisCon debacle. My response to WisCon's initial waffling over keeping Moon as a Guest of Honor could be summed up as, "Well, that's sad - there's a con that could have been awesome to attend that I will now refuse to support." However, WisCon DID rescind Moon's invitation, and I feel compelled not only to say YAY! to that but also to support the con by attending. So I'm purchasing two WisCon memberships and planning a 9-day road trip in May. I'm looking forward to interacting with smart people talking about important, vital issues, and I'm looking forward to the squee.

But even more than that, I'm super-excited because I asked my sister to attend with me, and she said YES. And this is beyond awesome, because my sister has never really been an SFF fan, but she's deeply interested in issues of social justice and all the things that WisCon stands for. And lately, she's become much more interested in SFF as well. We introduced her to Stargate SG1 and Atlantis, and she loved both of them; she borrowed and watched our Buffy DVDs and then got Angel from NetFlix; and now we're watching an episode of Firefly every now and then. I'm thrilled that she's going to WisCon with me!

So... I'm sorry that I found out about WisCon the way that I did, but I'm definitely glad that I know about it now, and that the con is trying to live up to its commitment to be a feminist, anti-racist, progressive con. I'm looking forward to attending and participating.

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