Name five characters who should have their own spinoffs.

Title: Stray Dogs and Grifters
Author: Dorinda
Fandom: The Sting
Pairing: Henry Gondorff/Johnny Hooker
Length: ~2000 words
Notes: For giglet's 2009 fandom stocking. Thanks to marycrawford, merryish, and aka_arduinna for all their help!

When the job went sour, it happened all at once.

(this is) not a statement, 2
by seperis
AIRPS, Adam, Kris

Notes: Okay, so starandrea used this as the title for the bookmark to this on delicious, and who am I to change that? Also, I liked it a lot. Can I just post things and other people can pick the titles after they read it? Seriously, I like that. Thanks to transtempts for checking this.

first part

( airps snippet: in LA, and in NY )

~ I love my job. I realise it has been two days, and possibly, I will love it less later, but, just. I don't think so. They are ADORABLE BOYS. And their parents are GOOD PARENTS. This, this is what I want to spend my life doing eventually, and yeah, pipe dream, whatever, I'm gonna go on living this bit of it as long as I possibly can.

~ I am a bad environmentalist, but I am thorougly unamused by the new Arrowhead bottles which have cut down by another 20% plastic by cutting out the TOP which I need in order to pour in the powders which are why I can make myself drink near the amount I should daily. I re-use, okay? I really do. I wash out and re-use and recycle when they start to grow mildew, and I do not have patience with this 20% eliminating the purpose of the bottle crap.

~ Why is it that things that look like cat food are so delicious? I love you, Mrs. Leeper, wherever you are.

~ Baking powder is an underrated magic ingredient

~ Also, I have an insane urge to bake. Today I made rolls. Tomorrow, trying a new pancake mix. Possibly also muffins. And brownies, if my meeting goes badly.

~ Hey, y'all, yell at me? I have three days to finish this fic. I am gonna finish it, so I can sign up for BBB with a clear conscience and a surrogate!Greta bunny.

Which, I am not sure how I feel about the last two episodes before the break. I guess we'll see how it goes. In April.

Anyway, I discovered Buffy is currently on Hulu a season at a time, and from a distance of OMFG TWELVE YEARS it is amazingly funny to hear Willow tell Buffy that Cordelia isn't Angel's type. Oh, first Halloween episode. You were so amazing. OZ I MISSED YOU. (ETA: GILES YOU WERE MOST ADORABLE.)

PS BEING HUMAN IS BACK ON SUNDAY. SUNDAY. :D

( 151. Lucifer at the Starlite — Kim Addonizio ) I am going to be making an effort to find more of Addonizio’s work.

---

( 152. Odd and the Frost Giants — Neil Gaiman ) WHEN ARE YOU WRITING ANOTHER ADULT NOVEL, NEIL?

---

( 153. Locke & Key: Head Games — Joe Hill ) I shall be needing volume three immediately, kthx.

---

( 154. Pretty Dead — Francesca Lia Block ) I no longer care about you, dead girl.

---

( 155. Crazy for the Storm — Norman Ollestad ) it’s a compelling read. (The parts about the plane crash and Malibu Canyon, not the parts about the author’s penis.)

---

( 156. Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It — Maile Meloy ) is that a great title or what?

---

( 157. Beat the Reaper — Josh Bazell ) It’s a romp in the best sense of the word. A romp with footnotes!

---

( 158. Nocturnes — Kazuo Ishiguro ) that’s damning with faint praise, isn’t it?

---

( 159. Poem Strip — Dino Buzzati ) it’s an interesting historical artifact and useful if you need more Fellini-ish fun (or boobs) in your life.

---

( 160. The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks — Max Brooks ) I think you’ll still find these a treat.

Total Reviews: 160/210

For earlier years, here. I swear I did it every year, but tags do not lie. I really need to go through my calendar and confirm this.

So statistically speaking, I killed a lot fewer characters this year. No one was raped, mutilated, or tortured, though some may have been drugged. There were new fandoms, old fandoms, things I'd never done before, and things I've wanted to do for a while.

There was Star Trek, my first fandom and the root of a lifetime of adoration of sci-fi, and there was RPS, which, yeah, I didn't see that coming like, at all. And there were people that make life so much more than it would have been without them.

( fandom in review - 2009 )

( people in review - 2009 )

In retrospect, 2009 wasn't bad at all. Thanks for that, too.

Fanfic Trope Meme


I think the idea of fanfic tropes is that you love the trope so much you'll read any story that containts it, regardless of the quality of the fic. There are some stories that contain these tropes that are just good stories. It's not like you have to like the trope to read the story. You can hate the trope and still really enjoy the story. I'm not mentioning it each time, but I've read and enjoyed stories with all of these tropes because they were well done. I'm just talking about how I generally feel about the trope.

( It's me, so of course this thing ended up being stupidly long and rambly )

In conclusion, I like tropes that facilitate sexytimes. SHOCKING, I KNOW.

Now go write all of those stories for me, please.

How are people responding to feedback posted on AO3? I normally thank people for fic feedback, but there doesn't seem to be a really efficient way to do it there.

http://stele3.insanejournal.com/304245.html

ACTUAL quotes from the ACTUAL FCC complaint against Adam Lambert (apparently):

(Read more ...)

First off, thanks to everyone who put up with my melodrama yesterday. Sometime you just need to shout it out, you know? Anyway, I'm doing a lot better now, even though nothing really changed, and I'm always down for a hug, so those were extra nice. &hearts to all my flist.

Take note! My first meme EVER!

( Fandom Cliche/Trope Meme )

I don't like to think I have a 'tude or anything, but sometimes I do greatly relish the opportunity to use my THIS DAY IS MORE THAN FIRED icon.

No one thing today has been especially bad, but apparently everyone at the office DID come in, they just came in late, and are thus trying to get more done in less time. At one point today both my phones were ringing and three interview candidates -- who weren't even supposed to see each other, let alone make casual conversation -- were standing at my desk.

WHY DID EVERYONE EVEN GET OUT OF BED. Can't they see it's snowing like balls out? The only reason I'm here is that someone had to sit by the unlocked front door and prevent thieves from robbing us! And you know why that's stupid? THE THIEVES STAYED HOME BECAUSE IT'S SNOWING LIKE BALLS OUT.

Wow, was this ever not a highly intellectual stretch of reading. I think this particular log covers the last week of August into the beginning of September; I wonder what other thing I could possibly have been so focused on? ;-)

( 141. Dangerous Laughter — Steven Millhauser ) This book needed a strong editor’s hand and clearly did not get it.

---

( 142. Priest: Vol. 1 — Min-Woo Hyung ) With pacing like this to look forward to, I suspect I’ll be just as pokey when it comes to picking up the next volume.

---

( 143. Bitten — Ed. by Susie Bright ) That's how it should be done, guys.

---

( 144. F U, Penguin — Matthew Gasteier ) Is there something Mishaish about it? POSSIBLY.

---

( 145. Amulet: The Stonekeeper’s Curse — Kazu Kibuishi ) This is a great example of an author taking familiar fantasy tropes and making them his own—and a joy to read besides.

---

( 146. Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life — Bryan Lee O’Malley ) Please justify my spending habits for me, kthx.

---

( 147. Juliet, Naked — Nick Hornby ) I really, really liked it—not enough to write thousands of words dissecting its every nuance on the internet, but I think we can all agree that that is ultimately a good thing.

---

( 148. The Bible Salesman — Clyde Edgerton ) I don't think I feel any different having read this book than I would have if I'd left it on the shelf.

---

( 149. The Guinea Pig Diaries — A.J. Jacobs ) I recommend trying The Know-It-All, as it’s still my favorite.

---

( 150. Shoplifting From American Apparel — Tao Lin ) perhaps I should read some of Lin’s short stories.

Total Reviews: 150/210

I haven't posted any Finn-like pictures lately. So here some are!

( fearsome black snowbeast )

In other news: 2010 is off to a good start. A very good start. I posted fic, I'm one step closer to an actual job oh my god, and I made a pretty good pot of coffee this morning.

So it is my belief that there are very few days that cannot be made better by the judicious application of homemade tapioca pudding.

... of course, that improvement only lasted until I got into work and opened my email. Damn you, Google Alerts! (I suspect we're going to spend some time being yelled at by members of the public in the next few weeks. Not my fault, really! But, argh.)

Anyway. Jim Hines has a post today on killing off characters. He namechecks Joss Whedon (what a surprise), but doesn't mention the writers of Spooks, who should get some kind of award for all the characters they've killed.

All of these reasons for not reading books apply to me. Also the one that says, "I'm lazy and just want to read something lighthearted today," which isn't on the list.

Oh, my goodness. They've turned Star-Blazers into a live-action movie. I remember that show!

I do think it's possible that these guys have too much time on their hands. No, seriously: they launched a Christmas tree.

*

BoingBoing this morning has a rundown on the new big tech releases being announced at the Consumer Electronics Show. They're all so shiny; and yet I will stay with my two-year-old T-Mobile Shadow and basic phone-and-text plan. Much cheaper in the short term.

That said, I found this comparison of the Nexus with the iPhone, Droid, and Pre interesting. I particularly liked the financial roundup, which is what convinced me not to buy any of them: $2500/year $1200/year would go a long way towards a new roof.

When I saw the reference to 4chan on the BoingBoing post, I was dubious; 4chan isn't known for their altruism. But this story is actually kind of entertaining. And they didn't harrass the kid, which was what I was afraid of.

*

James Fallows' article on the perception of American decline is worth reading. Reminds me of the Daily Show segment I saw the other day, in which John Oliver pointed out that Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly's "good old days" were their childhoods, and that's why life was simpler back then. (No, seriously, the connection makes sense if you read the article.)

The Atlantic also has a special report on the state of teaching in America.

*

Stumptuous has 2 inspirational 2010 calendars for sale.

Crossposted from DW, where there are comments; comment here or there.

This is how I feel this morning. *

ANNOYED WALLABY. IN SNOW.

* Photo nicked without asking from ungulata, who makes the awesomest zoo posts.

The snow, actually, I'm perfectly fine with (unlike that poor cranky wallaby) though it is falling and did cause me to slip a few times on my way to work. The real problem is that I woke up this morning at 7:25, the time at which I am normally arriving at work.

GET THIS: I was showered, dressed, and out the door seven minutes later, which is one in the eye for people who ask me why I lay out my clothes and pack my lunch the night before. EFFICIENCY!

I did forget my lunch, though. Damn.

Anyhow, given that I work with a bunch of cowards who are afraid of a little snow, I'm one of the few people in the office today and thus I get to take a little time to stop and smell the internet flowers like Honey Never Spoils, a blog in which an intrepid young woman is going through her grandmother's recipe box and making food from it. (thanks ScrivenerCollider!)

I am also spending the morning writing a DC comics/Torchwood crossover, because I lost a bet with Jean and she's a sadist. :D

Leap and the net will appear
Life; Dani Reese, Charlie Crews; pg; spoilers through the series finale; 1,535 words
Dani doesn't ever think that Crews isn't coming.

Written for centuries for yuletide 2009. Thanks to innie_darling and vee_fic for the super-fast beta.

( Leap and the net will appear )

~*~

Thanks so much to the people who commented. I really appreciate it.

( brief commentary )

Anyway. I like how it turned out, even if the recipient never did comment.

~*~

This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/115467.html. people have commented there.

The Winter 2009 issues of Icarus: The Magazine of Gay Speculative Fiction is now available, with a story by Tanith Lee.


There's a guest post on Writer Beware about the difference between a book distributor and a book wholesaler: Guest Blog Post: Distributor vs. Wholesaler--Getting Your Book on the Shelf. This is something a lot of new writers don't think about, and you don't see it mentioned in articles extolling the glories of self-publishing. (The articles that don't explain that while the self-published books can be ordered online, they aren't going to end up on bookstore shelves where readers can find them.)

Unfortunately, a lot of small presses and POD self-publishing companies try to make you believe they have the distributor relationship when, in fact, they have the wholesale relationship. Since Ingram won't reveal its client list, it's hard to know which is which. However, I believe that right now, Ingram requires that a publisher that's a distribution client must have about $20K+ of income from Ingram in order to qualify. If you think logically, would even PublishAmerica, the powerhouse of POD presses, qualify? Probably not. PA has the titles, but not the sales. PA, and hundreds of other POD-based presses with far fewer titles than PA, would never be accepted as a distribution client. Simply wouldn't happen. They are with the wholesale arm--i.e., they're listed in the Ingram catalog.


It's 40 and dropping here now, with a 40% chance of ice pellets. Yikes.