LeapFrog
May. 23rd, 2013 07:03 pm![[syndicated profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
yarn_harlot_feedThe blasted elves still haven't shown up here. Not a single sign of them, but with my wool as my witness, progress was made here yesterday, and the humans in my immediate vicinity (the ones who count on me to...
Mary Renault, "Return to Night"
May. 23rd, 2013 07:02 pm![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
narahtVery slowly working my way through Mary Renault's non-Charioteer contemporaries. I liked Return to Night much better than The Friendly Young Ladies, so am baffled to note that it seems to be much less popular. Only a few brief discussions over at MRF and apparently no fanfic at all, apart from a short mention in ITOW. Maybe because it's not as available in print/otherwise? Whatever the reason, I need this in my life at Yuletide.
It was published in 1947 and is the immediate precursor to The Charioteer--in writing order, thematically, and also in its setting, as it takes place just on the eve of World War II. It's fascinating to see so many of the tropes of The Charioteer in play already, just mixed around and reassigned. It is a heterosexual romance but a very queer one, so I would argue that it's a little bit more than just a heteronormativised version of The Charioteer.
The protagonist is Hilary Mansell, a doctor in her early thirties. She is in general practice in the Cotswolds, though she had wanted to go on for further surgical training. (Her former boyfriend got chosen over her--there is a lot about the experience of being a female doctor at this early period, and very interesting it is too.) The novel is about her relationship with Julian Fleming, a young man (eleven years younger) who has moved back to his home in the Cotswolds after graduating from Oxford. He longs to be an actor but his controlling mother disapproves. Oedipal issues ahoy.
Hilary is a really compelling and sympathetic character. Julian--well, OUDS types may not have changed at all since the 30s. As said, it's fascinating to see so many of The Charioteer's themes refracted through this lens. Between them, Hilary and Julian share out parts of Ralph, Laurie and Andrew, and I would love to unpick this at greater length one of these days. By having Hilary so much older than Julian, the novel partly succeeds in rebalancing some of the inherent power imbalance in a heterosexual relationship (and it's also just fairly novel!).
( Spoilers )
It was published in 1947 and is the immediate precursor to The Charioteer--in writing order, thematically, and also in its setting, as it takes place just on the eve of World War II. It's fascinating to see so many of the tropes of The Charioteer in play already, just mixed around and reassigned. It is a heterosexual romance but a very queer one, so I would argue that it's a little bit more than just a heteronormativised version of The Charioteer.
The protagonist is Hilary Mansell, a doctor in her early thirties. She is in general practice in the Cotswolds, though she had wanted to go on for further surgical training. (Her former boyfriend got chosen over her--there is a lot about the experience of being a female doctor at this early period, and very interesting it is too.) The novel is about her relationship with Julian Fleming, a young man (eleven years younger) who has moved back to his home in the Cotswolds after graduating from Oxford. He longs to be an actor but his controlling mother disapproves. Oedipal issues ahoy.
Hilary is a really compelling and sympathetic character. Julian--well, OUDS types may not have changed at all since the 30s. As said, it's fascinating to see so many of The Charioteer's themes refracted through this lens. Between them, Hilary and Julian share out parts of Ralph, Laurie and Andrew, and I would love to unpick this at greater length one of these days. By having Hilary so much older than Julian, the novel partly succeeds in rebalancing some of the inherent power imbalance in a heterosexual relationship (and it's also just fairly novel!).
( Spoilers )
BayCon schedule
May. 23rd, 2013 04:23 pmdesperanceThis morning over coffee, Julie said "So what's your Baycon schedule, then, Chaz? Interested parties want to know..." - and I did have to confess that I didn't know. I knew I had it somewhere; hell, I'd even read it...
It was pointed out to me - quite forcefully, in fact - that this was small use to anyone else, or indeed to myself if I couldn't remember it. Other people, I was reminded, post theirs in public fora, to make the information accessible to others, with the possible notion of attracting a small, y'know, audience.
So okay, then. Here is my BayCon schedule:
1. Themed Reading: Urban Fantasy on Friday at 9:00 PM in Central
(with Kyle Aisteach, Pat MacEwen, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Jaymi Elford)
Authors read from their urban fantasy works.
2. Location, Location, Location -- Setting Your Story in an SF World on Saturday at 9:00 AM in San Tomas
(with Juliette Wade, Paul Carlson, Todd McCaffrey (M), Aaron Mason)
Your character has to live somewhere, and that somewhere needs to support the story. It's embarrassing to have a great scene all written involving bikini- or Speedo-dressed people, when they all live in the first permanent settlement on the Moon, and only landed yesterday....
3. How to Tell one Dragon from another on Sunday at 11:00 AM in San Tomas
(with Audrey Kiehtreiber (M), Irene Radford, Pat MacEwen)
Not all dragons are alike. Simple mistakes in taxonomy can be dangerous to your plot line or your health. In this panel we present dragons in history, myth, and folklore from Asia to New Age.
4. Themed Reading: Fantasy on Sunday at 9:00 PM in Alameda
(with Jenna M. Pitman, Pat MacEwen, David Friedman)
Come listen to authors read from their fantasy works.
...Apparently I have two separate readings, Friday and Sunday. I shall read two separate things. Y'all should definitely come to both. A panel is only a panel, but a good piece of work is a Smoke.
It was pointed out to me - quite forcefully, in fact - that this was small use to anyone else, or indeed to myself if I couldn't remember it. Other people, I was reminded, post theirs in public fora, to make the information accessible to others, with the possible notion of attracting a small, y'know, audience.
So okay, then. Here is my BayCon schedule:
1. Themed Reading: Urban Fantasy on Friday at 9:00 PM in Central
(with Kyle Aisteach, Pat MacEwen, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Jaymi Elford)
Authors read from their urban fantasy works.
2. Location, Location, Location -- Setting Your Story in an SF World on Saturday at 9:00 AM in San Tomas
(with Juliette Wade, Paul Carlson, Todd McCaffrey (M), Aaron Mason)
Your character has to live somewhere, and that somewhere needs to support the story. It's embarrassing to have a great scene all written involving bikini- or Speedo-dressed people, when they all live in the first permanent settlement on the Moon, and only landed yesterday....
3. How to Tell one Dragon from another on Sunday at 11:00 AM in San Tomas
(with Audrey Kiehtreiber (M), Irene Radford, Pat MacEwen)
Not all dragons are alike. Simple mistakes in taxonomy can be dangerous to your plot line or your health. In this panel we present dragons in history, myth, and folklore from Asia to New Age.
4. Themed Reading: Fantasy on Sunday at 9:00 PM in Alameda
(with Jenna M. Pitman, Pat MacEwen, David Friedman)
Come listen to authors read from their fantasy works.
...Apparently I have two separate readings, Friday and Sunday. I shall read two separate things. Y'all should definitely come to both. A panel is only a panel, but a good piece of work is a Smoke.
This is the part where you notice details
May. 23rd, 2013 07:22 pmsarkenI'm trying to decide on which shot of Sue Ellen giving her campaign speech at the end of season one I want to use, and you know how they used her speech as a voiceover? (No, you don't, but you can trust me. They did.)
When she says "like the good people of Texas," it is paired with Bobby on the patio.
When she gets to "I have found strength in adversity," Ann walks out of the house.
UGH YOU ARE KILLING ME, SHOW.
(Also, IDEK what to do here. I let iMovie convert my mp4s of Dallas, since at least all my video will be the same quality that way -- except for the one episode I only have in avi, natch, but maybe I can get away with not using it. The mp4s add up to 7GB. The converted files are movs that add up to a whopping 91GB. That is ri-goddamn-diculous. I guess I delete them when I'm done. But seriously, my iMac only has 150GB, and only 18 of them are available. My external hard drive is 150GB, too, and it only has 25 available. Ugh. It's not like they magically become better quality by making them bigger. Some file formats, man.)
ETA: Ugh ugh ugh. Legacies didn't convert properly. The video just fecking freezes on Bobby and Christopher. PEACHY. What else didn't convert right?
When she says "like the good people of Texas," it is paired with Bobby on the patio.
When she gets to "I have found strength in adversity," Ann walks out of the house.
UGH YOU ARE KILLING ME, SHOW.
(Also, IDEK what to do here. I let iMovie convert my mp4s of Dallas, since at least all my video will be the same quality that way -- except for the one episode I only have in avi, natch, but maybe I can get away with not using it. The mp4s add up to 7GB. The converted files are movs that add up to a whopping 91GB. That is ri-goddamn-diculous. I guess I delete them when I'm done. But seriously, my iMac only has 150GB, and only 18 of them are available. My external hard drive is 150GB, too, and it only has 25 available. Ugh. It's not like they magically become better quality by making them bigger. Some file formats, man.)
ETA: Ugh ugh ugh. Legacies didn't convert properly. The video just fecking freezes on Bobby and Christopher. PEACHY. What else didn't convert right?
[ SECRET POST #2333 ]
May. 23rd, 2013 07:02 pmcase posting in ![[community profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fandomsecrets⌈ Secret Post #2333 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
( More! )
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 019 secrets from Secret Submission Post #333.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 2 - ships it ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
(no subject)
May. 23rd, 2013 02:31 pmsneezer222My sister in law just designed this patch {she has a motorcycle gear consignment shop and just started getting into custom patches} and I thought I would share. You can get yours here:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/CruiseInCon
https://www.facebook.com/#!/CruiseInCon
(no subject)
May. 23rd, 2013 04:10 pmtelophaseDeleted Shower of Evil clip from Star Trek: Into Darkness featuring Benedict Cumberbatch's chest. Skip to 1:30 if you don't want to bother with J. J. Abrams pretending that there was an actual reason to put Carol Markus in her underwear.
Word count
May. 23rd, 2013 03:29 pmfeuervogel+360, 25445.
Finished the scene I started yesterday, and I'm going to go finish sewing a thing I started this morning. I took 15 mcg of T3 today, and I feel SO much better.
Finished the scene I started yesterday, and I'm going to go finish sewing a thing I started this morning. I took 15 mcg of T3 today, and I feel SO much better.
And No One Really Understands Mulholland Drive
May. 23rd, 2013 12:17 pmautographedcatEarlier this morning, we were discussing spoilers and spoiler etiquette in the Tadpool, and someone linked to this wonderful video.
Mirrored from Home of the Autographed Cat.
(no subject)
May. 23rd, 2013 02:10 pmcopperbadgeAwkward Coworker: Hey Sam. You know Lady And The Tramp?
Sam: It's been a while.
Awkward Coworker: You remember the dogs, the two dogs, the little scottie and the big bloodhound?
Sam: Yes....
Awkward Coworker: I just saw [Vice President] and [Associate Vice President] walking down the hallway...
Sam: *PEALS OF LAUGHTER*
Our Vice President is about five foot eight and dark-haired, and our Associate VP is a 6'6" ginger. I never drew the connection but they are TOTALLY the mismatched-sidekick-dogs Disney was rocking in all its pet movies for a while. (Aristocats, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmations.)
I love that Awkward Coworker and I have reached a point in our working relationship where if he has something socially inappropriate to say, he comes to me because he knows I will understand.
Sam: It's been a while.
Awkward Coworker: You remember the dogs, the two dogs, the little scottie and the big bloodhound?
Sam: Yes....
Awkward Coworker: I just saw [Vice President] and [Associate Vice President] walking down the hallway...
Sam: *PEALS OF LAUGHTER*
Our Vice President is about five foot eight and dark-haired, and our Associate VP is a 6'6" ginger. I never drew the connection but they are TOTALLY the mismatched-sidekick-dogs Disney was rocking in all its pet movies for a while. (Aristocats, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmations.)
I love that Awkward Coworker and I have reached a point in our working relationship where if he has something socially inappropriate to say, he comes to me because he knows I will understand.
That Gal Thursday: Æowyn
May. 23rd, 2013 01:32 pmaldersprigSome people are just born to be social; Æowyn is one of those.
She's a people-person, a social butterfly, a maven and a sometimes gossip; in a normal school, she'd be the head of her own clique. In later years at Addergoole, she probably will be the head of a crew.
This year, she's Kept, and not very well-Kept at that. Her relationship with Fafnir (such as it is) restrains just how social she can be; all of her friends also being under a collar restrains it even more.
Æowyn is a slender blonde girl with bright blue eyes who stands barely 4'9" tall. Her Change gives her scales down her chest and back, and poisonous fangs. It also gives her a temper to match the poison.
One one one point has Fafnir given up: Æowyn doesn't dress the way he'd like her to. She wears men's button-down shirts and vests, newsboy caps and men's slacks; only at the dances does she give in enough to wear skirts.
When un-Kept, she'll probably wear tuxes to the dances.
She's a people-person, a social butterfly, a maven and a sometimes gossip; in a normal school, she'd be the head of her own clique. In later years at Addergoole, she probably will be the head of a crew.
This year, she's Kept, and not very well-Kept at that. Her relationship with Fafnir (such as it is) restrains just how social she can be; all of her friends also being under a collar restrains it even more.
Æowyn is a slender blonde girl with bright blue eyes who stands barely 4'9" tall. Her Change gives her scales down her chest and back, and poisonous fangs. It also gives her a temper to match the poison.
One one one point has Fafnir given up: Æowyn doesn't dress the way he'd like her to. She wears men's button-down shirts and vests, newsboy caps and men's slacks; only at the dances does she give in enough to wear skirts.
When un-Kept, she'll probably wear tuxes to the dances.
Fic: The Loco of Loki, Avengers, Tony/Loki/Pepper, NC17/18 (3/4)
May. 23rd, 2013 06:01 pmberen_writesI'm sorry, I know I said it was going to be 3 chapters, but when the third chapter made it to almost as long as the rest of the fic I realised it's going to be 4 - sorry. So, here's chapter 3.
Title: The Loco of Loki (3/4)
Author: Beren
Fandom: Avengers 2012, Iron Man, Thor
Pairing: Tony/Pepper/Loki (eventually)
Rating: NC17/18
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Marvel et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Warnings: SPOILERS for Iron Man 3, vampires
Summary: Tony gets an unexpected visit from Loki when the demi-god is supposed to be safely locked up in Asgard. The thing is he's pretty sure Loki didn't have fangs last time they met.
Author's Notes: I know Marvel has canonical vampires, but I don't read the comics and there haven't been any in the movie-verse so I'm just running with whatever I fancy :). Also, I started writing this before the teaser trailer for Thor 2 came out, so it mostly doesn't gel with that. Thanks to Soph for the beta.
Links to other parts:
LJ : Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (Coming soon)
DW : Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (Coming soon)
at AO3
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)
( Chapter 3 What Comes Next? )
On to Part 4 (coming soon)
Title: The Loco of Loki (3/4)
Author: Beren
Fandom: Avengers 2012, Iron Man, Thor
Pairing: Tony/Pepper/Loki (eventually)
Rating: NC17/18
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Marvel et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Warnings: SPOILERS for Iron Man 3, vampires
Summary: Tony gets an unexpected visit from Loki when the demi-god is supposed to be safely locked up in Asgard. The thing is he's pretty sure Loki didn't have fangs last time they met.
Author's Notes: I know Marvel has canonical vampires, but I don't read the comics and there haven't been any in the movie-verse so I'm just running with whatever I fancy :). Also, I started writing this before the teaser trailer for Thor 2 came out, so it mostly doesn't gel with that. Thanks to Soph for the beta.
Links to other parts:
LJ : Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (Coming soon)
DW : Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 (Coming soon)
at AO3
My Fanfic Listings (LJ) | My Fanfic Listings (DreamW)
( Chapter 3 What Comes Next? )
On to Part 4 (coming soon)
For no good reason
May. 23rd, 2013 12:02 pmjames_davis_nicollAuthors in 1967's Dangerous Visions by year of debut (length of career at the time DV came out indicated in brackets):
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Dragons
May. 23rd, 2013 10:56 amunbroken_halo posting in dragonspamI've got three Day 2 releases, and that's one more than I wanted so if anyone needs/wants one I will pass it along. First come first serve. Otherwise I am going to drop it off on the gifting forum. YAY! This is the first time I've ever been able to do that during a release!
( Dragons )
( Dragons )
Traveling Thursday
May. 23rd, 2013 11:37 ammiintikwaI am at the airport waiting for my plane to arrive for cleaning. Flight leaves at quarter-to-one, so I have an hour to wait.
After yesterday's bad news bonanza, yesterday evening was quiet. Husbeastie felt better after a nap, Advil, and a muscle relaxer, and so he studied and worked from home after he woke up. I pretty much declared the day bankrupt and played Mass Effect 3 all evening.
I finished ME2 day before yesterday, and I had planned on waiting until I got back from WisCon before starting ME3, but I needed something to cheer me up, and killing aliens and meeting "old friends" was just perfect.
I completely understand the people who kept saying "just skip ME, start with ME2" now. ME2 is a great game, and I think I will start there from now on. But I wanted to be a completionist, and I am glad I did play ME. The accomplishments were worth it. :) Plus, the scene with Wrex at Virmire pretty much made the game for me. (I may try replaying ME just because I loved that scene and want to see how it plays out the other way.)
My plane has landed, so I am going to wrap up. Send uneventful travel vibes my way, please! <3 <3
After yesterday's bad news bonanza, yesterday evening was quiet. Husbeastie felt better after a nap, Advil, and a muscle relaxer, and so he studied and worked from home after he woke up. I pretty much declared the day bankrupt and played Mass Effect 3 all evening.
I finished ME2 day before yesterday, and I had planned on waiting until I got back from WisCon before starting ME3, but I needed something to cheer me up, and killing aliens and meeting "old friends" was just perfect.
I completely understand the people who kept saying "just skip ME, start with ME2" now. ME2 is a great game, and I think I will start there from now on. But I wanted to be a completionist, and I am glad I did play ME. The accomplishments were worth it. :) Plus, the scene with Wrex at Virmire pretty much made the game for me. (I may try replaying ME just because I loved that scene and want to see how it plays out the other way.)
My plane has landed, so I am going to wrap up. Send uneventful travel vibes my way, please! <3 <3
Iron Horse Ranch House, Market Deeping
May. 23rd, 2013 03:42 pmfood_adventureSince getting involved with American BBQ, I’ve become more aware of how this style of food is increasing in the UK, both in terms of restaurants such as Barbecoa, and smaller eateries and take-aways. However, I somehow missed one opening in my own town.
( Read the rest of this entry » )
Originally published at Food Adventure by Chris. Please read or make comments there.
Copyright © 2013 Food Adventure. All Rights Reserved.
Magic Items in Faerie Apocalypse, a Setting Piece for the Giraffe Call
May. 23rd, 2013 11:21 amaldersprigMagic Items in the Faerie Apocalypse World
In the Addergoole series, two magical collars have shown up to date: Conrad's, originally worn by Carter, and Garfunkel's, originally worn by Sylvia. They were created in two different ways, which nicely indicate the different sorts of magical items in Fae Apoc: Carter/Conrad's by Working, and Gar/Sylvia's by an innate.
The Thorne Girls created Carter's collar to respond to a certain emotional state (Hugr) and vocal volume (Kwxe) with an electrical shock (Hiko); they did this in a complex multi-part Working using Words that they had, in conjunction with Unutu (Worked things) which each of them also had as a Word. I.e., a Thorne with Hugr would lay down a working, and then one with Kwxe, and so on.
This sort of complex team Working takes time, energy, and the ability to work as a team, something the three Thornes had in spades. If a single person were to do a Working like this, they would need to possess all the Words to create a long-term if-then sort of thing (If the target's Hugr reads snotty, then zap Hiko If it reads actively antagonistic,, then ZAP Hiko). It would obviously take more energy, as well.
( Read more... )
In the Addergoole series, two magical collars have shown up to date: Conrad's, originally worn by Carter, and Garfunkel's, originally worn by Sylvia. They were created in two different ways, which nicely indicate the different sorts of magical items in Fae Apoc: Carter/Conrad's by Working, and Gar/Sylvia's by an innate.
The Thorne Girls created Carter's collar to respond to a certain emotional state (Hugr) and vocal volume (Kwxe) with an electrical shock (Hiko); they did this in a complex multi-part Working using Words that they had, in conjunction with Unutu (Worked things) which each of them also had as a Word. I.e., a Thorne with Hugr would lay down a working, and then one with Kwxe, and so on.
This sort of complex team Working takes time, energy, and the ability to work as a team, something the three Thornes had in spades. If a single person were to do a Working like this, they would need to possess all the Words to create a long-term if-then sort of thing (If the target's Hugr reads snotty, then zap Hiko If it reads actively antagonistic,, then ZAP Hiko). It would obviously take more energy, as well.
( Read more... )
More cheese, Gromit?
May. 23rd, 2013 02:21 pmfood_adventure
My “cutting down on food spending in supermarkets” took a big hit today, when I spent over 50 quid on food in the Co-op.
( Read the rest of this entry » )
Originally published at Food Adventure by Chris. Please read or make comments there.
Copyright © 2013 Food Adventure. All Rights Reserved.
Whoops!!!
May. 23rd, 2013 09:04 ambadgerbagI accidentally have two rooms at WisCon! Aaaaack!
It is a governor's club room with king size bed, shower, access to the 12th floor lounge with free drinks and food.
email me if you want it! if no one emails in the next couple of hours I will cancel the extra reservation. lizhenry@gmail.com.
Completely forgot that I booked this room *at last year's wiscon* and then i took over tempest's extra room. AHahahahahah.... fail.
It is a governor's club room with king size bed, shower, access to the 12th floor lounge with free drinks and food.
email me if you want it! if no one emails in the next couple of hours I will cancel the extra reservation. lizhenry@gmail.com.
Completely forgot that I booked this room *at last year's wiscon* and then i took over tempest's extra room. AHahahahahah.... fail.
R is Running Away, a Continuation of TÃr na Cali for the Giraffe Call
May. 23rd, 2013 10:03 amaldersprigFor ![[livejournal.com profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rix_scaedu's commissioned continuation of R is for Runaway.
If you dislike the TÃr na Cali setting, this is going to be everything you dislike and more.
Rique woke up in a cold room, half-covered by a blanket.
He remembered the woman, the hot dog - he knew better, damnit, he knew better - then falling over into her arms. He remembered waking briefly, tied up and in some sort of moving vehicle. He remembered the prick of a needle.
Drugs. He'd done his damndest to avoid anything remotely drug-like in the three months he'd been out on the street - not so much as an aspirin had crossed his lips, and he hadn't let a needle get anywhere near him. After his dad... that wasn't important now. What was important was getting out of here before things got really fucked up.
More fucked up. A quick peek told him he was naked under the blanket, a quick exploration of the room told him that there was absolutely nothing in there except him, the bed, and a dresser. No clothes. Not even a water glass. And no window.
( Read more... )
rix_scaedu's commissioned continuation of R is for Runaway.If you dislike the TÃr na Cali setting, this is going to be everything you dislike and more.
Rique woke up in a cold room, half-covered by a blanket.
He remembered the woman, the hot dog - he knew better, damnit, he knew better - then falling over into her arms. He remembered waking briefly, tied up and in some sort of moving vehicle. He remembered the prick of a needle.
Drugs. He'd done his damndest to avoid anything remotely drug-like in the three months he'd been out on the street - not so much as an aspirin had crossed his lips, and he hadn't let a needle get anywhere near him. After his dad... that wasn't important now. What was important was getting out of here before things got really fucked up.
More fucked up. A quick peek told him he was naked under the blanket, a quick exploration of the room told him that there was absolutely nothing in there except him, the bed, and a dresser. No clothes. Not even a water glass. And no window.
( Read more... )
Poetry Signal-Boost
May. 23rd, 2013 09:37 amcadenzamuse
Write a Dr. Seuss-style poem, record a tongue twister, discuss your favorites, and more - Monday, May 27th through Saturday, June 1st @
poetreeIf you've never stopped by
poetree, this would be a great time. It's a good way to get to know some other DW poets and poetry lovers, and this is not a SRS BSNS academic study of a poem (which is also something we do there!). Should be fun!The continuing saga of Hoboken University Medical Center
May. 23rd, 2013 09:32 amcamwynGot home from work yesterday. Had a bill from HUMC waiting for me, again for $5500. Bright side: it was dated May 9th, the same day Cigna had told me they were going to send the HUMC documents to the claims department and handle things, so I assume that the paper bill went out the door at HUMC billing before Cigna got hold of them.
There is no way in hell I am going to pay these people $5500 for this. None. Cigna had better take care of this like they said.
Fun note: according to the New York Times, Bayonne Medical Center in Bayonne, NJ has the highest billing rates in the United States, routinely billing for common hospital procedures at four times the national average, if not even more. They went bankrupt in 2007 and the investor group that bought them has since turned them profitable by means of billing at these insane rates.
It's the same goddamn investor group that owns Hoboken University Medical Center.
Bastards.
There is no way in hell I am going to pay these people $5500 for this. None. Cigna had better take care of this like they said.
Fun note: according to the New York Times, Bayonne Medical Center in Bayonne, NJ has the highest billing rates in the United States, routinely billing for common hospital procedures at four times the national average, if not even more. They went bankrupt in 2007 and the investor group that bought them has since turned them profitable by means of billing at these insane rates.
It's the same goddamn investor group that owns Hoboken University Medical Center.
Bastards.
Oops
May. 23rd, 2013 08:12 amtelophaseWas mailing that previous link to myself, and accidentally sent it to DW instead.
It's a /r/bestof link that points to a series if comments in /r/askhistorians that I intend to read later. (Too much hassle to log in and delete it on my phone, so you get an explanation of it instead.)
Sent from my iPhone
It's a /r/bestof link that points to a series if comments in /r/askhistorians that I intend to read later. (Too much hassle to log in and delete it on my phone, so you get an explanation of it instead.)
Sent from my iPhone
I have an opinon!
May. 23rd, 2013 08:55 amjames_davis_nicollOn the question of whether the Stieg Larsson Award For Hottest Teenage Hacker Punk Who Falls In Love With The Protagonist's Self-Insert" is a fan or a pro award, I say it's clearly a pro award.
Squids in his (her, your) ink
May. 23rd, 2013 11:32 amlanguagelog_feedFrom Gabe Wyner come photos of a menu in Arcos de la Frontera, whose English version is full of the delightful consequences of someone's earnest reliance on a bilingual dictionary. For example:
In the Spanish version of the menu, that one of course is Calamares en su tinta.
Lexicographical parentheses come up again in the various dishes characterized as Revuelto de X, where revuelto here means "scrambled", and (I think) refers to scrambled eggs with various other ingredients, but has been translated as "In a mess (Untidy)":
Another poetic fragment involves several dishes characterized as "Attacked" of this and that, resulting from the fact that saltear can mean "rob, assault" as well as "sauté":
A more subtle misconnection is the translation of guarnición as "garrison" rather than "garnish":
The full English and Spanish versions of this menu page are here and here.
I leave it as an exercise for the reader to guess what you'd get if you ordered "Iberian Secret" or "Iberian Pen (Feather)" from the "Meets" section:
Book Fundraiser for Oklahoma
May. 23rd, 2013 07:02 ammarthawells* Literati Literature Lovers Blog is doing a fundraiser for the Red Cross to benefit communities affected by the tornadoes in Oklahoma. Donate and enter to win signed books by a bunch of different authors. I've contributed signed copies of Emilie and the Hollow World, The Cloud Roads, The Serpent Sea, The Siren Depths, and Wheel of the Infinite.
They're hoping to raise $2500 by June 7. Please pass the info on.
* It's not part of the drawing above, but if you want to help displaced and injured animals too, you can donate to the Animal Resource Center of Oklahoma City and Pet Food Pantry.
They're hoping to raise $2500 by June 7. Please pass the info on.
* It's not part of the drawing above, but if you want to help displaced and injured animals too, you can donate to the Animal Resource Center of Oklahoma City and Pet Food Pantry.
Three things make a post
May. 23rd, 2013 09:54 pmvass1. The GP I saw today (who isn't my usual but is from my regular clinic) says what I have right now is probably an adenovirus, and I should probably be much better in a week, but my eyes might potentially take another fortnight after that.
2. In the fanfic I'm reading right now, Character A surprised his husband, Character B, by buying a new apartment, because the one they're living in now is too small for them. (Money is not an issue for these characters.) This is supposed to be a romantic surprise, inspired by B's admission that he now considers their city his hometown.
It would not be romantic for me. My response would be something to the tune of WHAT THE FUCK? I WANT A SAY IN WHERE WE LIVE TOO, ASSHOLE. YOU DO NOT GET TO MAKE UNILATERAL DECISIONS ON WHERE AND HOW WE LIVE AND CALL THAT ROMANTIC.
This is also how I feel about pets as gifts.
3. On the Naming of Politicians (it isn't just one of your holiday games.)
I've been thinking about Australian prime ministers, and how the general public tends to refer to them - given name, surname, nickname, etc - and how that correlates to party and popularity. I haven't managed to draw any conclusions.
Any other Australians want to jump in on this one?
2. In the fanfic I'm reading right now, Character A surprised his husband, Character B, by buying a new apartment, because the one they're living in now is too small for them. (Money is not an issue for these characters.) This is supposed to be a romantic surprise, inspired by B's admission that he now considers their city his hometown.
It would not be romantic for me. My response would be something to the tune of WHAT THE FUCK? I WANT A SAY IN WHERE WE LIVE TOO, ASSHOLE. YOU DO NOT GET TO MAKE UNILATERAL DECISIONS ON WHERE AND HOW WE LIVE AND CALL THAT ROMANTIC.
This is also how I feel about pets as gifts.
3. On the Naming of Politicians (it isn't just one of your holiday games.)
I've been thinking about Australian prime ministers, and how the general public tends to refer to them - given name, surname, nickname, etc - and how that correlates to party and popularity. I haven't managed to draw any conclusions.
Any other Australians want to jump in on this one?
Bean wigwam
May. 23rd, 2013 10:36 amjulietMirrored from Twisting Vines.
Lousy weather notwithstanding, I am soldiering onwards with planting in the back garden. (And, indeed, some things are even growing.) This week, it was time to establish the new bean wigwam.
First job was to prise up some more paving slabs, as this is an area I haven’t used before. Next, to shove a few bamboo canes firmly into the ground and tie them together. Here it is, modelled by my glamorous and somewhat grubby assistants Leon and Sidney:
Paving slabs up, sticks in, lots of sand (underneath which is London clay).
The other beds are all standard raised beds (made from pallets), but this time I haven’t had a chance to build a proper bed. So for now I’m just piling compost around the poles and planting into that. Leon helped me to trowel compost out of the bag and spread it in a circle.
Finally, after Leon was in bed (so I wouldn’t have to hoick him out of the compost heap), I dug a few spadefuls of not-yet-composted material out of the compost heap, and piled that in the middle of the wigwam. (Ideally I’d have done this before setting up the poles, but baby and dog assistance precluded.) The idea is that the beans will surround this pile as it composts down, creating new soil in the middle of the bed. Once the beans are done for the year I can also chop those off at the base, leaving their roots in place to help improve the ground, and pile the rest of the dead bean plants in over the compost to rot down further over the winter. This bed only gets sun during the summer so won’t be in use in winter anyway.
French bean seeds planted around the poles, and I was all done.
The Kindle Worlds Fiasco
May. 23rd, 2013 09:57 amberen_writesFirst off I would like to say, I wouldn't touch this with a twenty foot pole.
However, that's not what worries me.
What worries me is the unscrupulous people who will. For the honest fanfic writers I say, it's up to you, but be careful, it's plagiarists that cause me some anxiety.
Say we have this scenario.
Writer A writes a fanfic with some great, distinctive, original ideas in it - it's popular.
Writer B comes along, steals those original ideas and publishes a new fanfic on Kindle Worlds (might even be an entirely different fandom).
If this was just fanfic, fandom would likely see the plagiarism and jump on it because fandom is vigilant like that.
Amazon doesn't seem to understand fandom and hence has no fandom people to spot the problem.
Amazon and Writer B are now illegally making money off Writer A's copyright for the original content and claiming rights to it forever and a day.
Who is going to stand up for Writer A - Amazon are already bad enough at patrolling the self pub section for completely plagiarised books, how are they going to spot original concepts?
Will Amazon have a system for removing plagiarised books from Kindle Worlds?
This becomes really important if Writer A then decides to use their original idea in an original novel which they wish to publish.
It makes me want to very carefully document where all of my fanfic is and has been published, y'know, just in case. Paranoia rules okay.
Fanfic is an inherently shared community - I remember the comm where we put up disclaimers to say, sure, anyone can write fanfic of my fanfic, just credit me. Now writers are going to have to say, sure, you can write fanfic of my fanfic, but not on Kindle Worlds, ever.
This may all be moot because the content guidelines might be so tight it makes all this irrelevant, or the submission process might be actually stringent, but, until I see how it is going to work I shall worry. (The whole you can use our cover creator part does not fill me with confidence). Wait 'til people start stealing fanart to use as their covers.
Has the OTW made comment yet? I would be very interested to hear their take on it.
However, that's not what worries me.
What worries me is the unscrupulous people who will. For the honest fanfic writers I say, it's up to you, but be careful, it's plagiarists that cause me some anxiety.
Say we have this scenario.
Writer A writes a fanfic with some great, distinctive, original ideas in it - it's popular.
Writer B comes along, steals those original ideas and publishes a new fanfic on Kindle Worlds (might even be an entirely different fandom).
If this was just fanfic, fandom would likely see the plagiarism and jump on it because fandom is vigilant like that.
Amazon doesn't seem to understand fandom and hence has no fandom people to spot the problem.
Amazon and Writer B are now illegally making money off Writer A's copyright for the original content and claiming rights to it forever and a day.
Who is going to stand up for Writer A - Amazon are already bad enough at patrolling the self pub section for completely plagiarised books, how are they going to spot original concepts?
Will Amazon have a system for removing plagiarised books from Kindle Worlds?
This becomes really important if Writer A then decides to use their original idea in an original novel which they wish to publish.
It makes me want to very carefully document where all of my fanfic is and has been published, y'know, just in case. Paranoia rules okay.
Fanfic is an inherently shared community - I remember the comm where we put up disclaimers to say, sure, anyone can write fanfic of my fanfic, just credit me. Now writers are going to have to say, sure, you can write fanfic of my fanfic, but not on Kindle Worlds, ever.
This may all be moot because the content guidelines might be so tight it makes all this irrelevant, or the submission process might be actually stringent, but, until I see how it is going to work I shall worry. (The whole you can use our cover creator part does not fill me with confidence). Wait 'til people start stealing fanart to use as their covers.
Has the OTW made comment yet? I would be very interested to hear their take on it.