Discworld After Dark

They're doing inspections next week, so I spent more than I should have to get cleaners in. So that was me having to be awake from around noon to around two. But it doesn't stop there, because I am expecting a Hookah-Shisha.com package from UPS, and the only way I can be sure of getting a UPS delivery without a hitch is by having the door open. Thankfully, the screen door latch is fixed! But UPS is yet to arrive, although the tracking info says all is well.

Did I mention that it's raining and chilly? 43 may not be cold in New England in December, but it is in Texas. And the rainy, especially, makes me stiff and sore.

I've got semi-plans with doombuggie, but if UPS doesn't show soon they won't be able to happen :( I'm miserably cold and stiff anyway. I just want to be warm.

1. My username is ______ because ______: legendarcy because like 157309415832 times I've misspelled "legendary" as "legendarcy" and thought it was an awesome username.

2. My name is _____ because ______: I'm the motherflippin' Marquise of Misandry because it used to just be "I'm the motherflippin'" from that song by Flight of the Conchords, then I think Rory was making people royalty in chat one day (on account of him being British and all Brits being royalty) and I added my royal title and never changed it.

3. My journal is titled ____ because ____: there are worlds out there where the sky is burning & the sea's asleep because it's from the last lines of the original series of Doctor Who and I've always loved that quote: "There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do."

4. My default userpic is ____ because ____: New! It's a pic of Ten with Ace in the background and it says Ace was here because Ace is the most amazing companion ever and fuck Rose and RTD too a little for forgetting that there were a WHOLE SHIT LOAD of companions BEFORE Rose and never mentioning ANY of them EVER. Yay Ace!

Glee: Hairography

So let me get this straight: those precious abled Glee kids singing over another choir is supposed to be fucking heartwarming?

You know what would happen outside of TV land, if you just started singing over another choir's performance? Nothing good, let me assure you. How fucking rude and entitled can these people be? So now treating performers with complete disrespect and undermining their efforts is 'progressive?' Fuck you, Glee.

Not to mention my disgust with the epilepsy joke.

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Legend of the Seeker: now with 500% more delicious femslash! APPROVED. Okay, it's all subtext, but let me dream.



I've been reading books about World War II and the Vietnam war. Not the most pleasant, upbeat or rejuvenating of subject material. I feel a little worn out.

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A while back I was looking through a collection of brochures for different programs at my school and caught myself thinking "wow, there're a lot of women on these brochures!" Then I thought "I wonder how many there are, exactly," and counted. End result: 13 women, 17 men, and a few I couldn't positively identify. Hm.

I think part of the reason I thought it looked good was that they had women on the brochures for "male" fields (CS, engineering) and men on the "female" fields' ones (nursing, I believe also culinary arts) so I was expecting good numbers too. But there's also the male default here. I noticed the women. The men were to be expected. I remember reading about a study where men and women were shown videos of conversations and asked who had dominated them, and they thought women were dominating conversations when the time taken by men and women was equal, and saw balance when the men talked more.

Another case of that crops up in the apparent "crisis" in American Judaism. That most religions are and have historically been run by men isn't an issue, but as soon as one appears to be dominated by women, it's a problem. Note that the only man quoted in that article as saying that gender imbalance isn't a problem is speaking from a place where men are the majority -- that kind of imbalance is fine, people!

Have I mentioned lately that I'm tired of misogyny?

Woooo! Just counted everything up!

31474 / 30000 words. 105% done!

My grandmother sent me this "cutesy" email forward about how awesome dogs are and how aloof and uncaring cats are.

I sent her pictures of her great-grand-kitties.

I have an upset tummy and a slightly whiny back. Oh, for a bottle of ginger beer and a gentle backrub! I might have to use my Hitachi Magic Wand for its officially intended purpose.

Procrastination: it does beautiful or maybe just crazy things.

bishoptoqueen: a fan community for old school Anita Blake. Because I miss her. Probably no one will join but what the hell, it'll be fun to play in.

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More stress today; had to call to switch my Medicare Part D insurance plan to one where I wouldn't have to pay a premium. Enrolled over the phone. My hands were shaking the whole time. I almost dropped the phone.

Tomorrow I need to get ahold of Molly Maid so I don't have to worry about my place being a sty for the inspection on the 8th. Why the hell they are doing inspections now is anyone's guess. I just hope it's not the 3rd, because if it is I'll have to reschedule my MHMR appointment.

But I am valiumed up now and sleep will be soo.

Apropos of exactly nothing, this is my Anita Blake.

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Watching the old Hitchock movie on tv, I'm wondering if it's wrong that I hope they do some sort of version of "To Catch a Thief"?

(I blame baking gingerbread for this idea.)

NAME A FANDOM AND I'LL TELL YOU MY:

• One True Pairing Ship
• Canon Ship
• "If this happens I'll stab my eyes out with a spork" Ship
• "You are one sick bastard" Ship
• "I dabble a little" Ship
• "It's like a car crash" Ship
• "Tickles my fancy but not sold just yet" Ship
• "Makes no canon sense but why the hell not" Ship
• "Everyone else loves it but I just don't feel it" Ship

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I broke my glasses last night. In the morning, when I sheepishly reported to Mum what had happened, she told me I should find a backup pair (don't have one; it's been years and my prescription changed) and call the optometrist. Now, I am a logical person, but do not ask me to make a phone call if there is any alternative. I will panic, shut down, and become defensive. The only kind of phone calls I can handle are when someone calls me, when I call home, when I call somewhere I know a robot will answer, and when I have absolutely no choice. It's hard enough talking to strangers in person, or emailing them; not knowing who'll be at the other end of the phone is impossible. And it's not just that I need to make more calls, goddammit. I feel ill when I'm pushed. And nobody understands. *single tear*

( spoilers for the ep and for the promo for next week plus some speculation )

Is it next week yet?

"That's because I love you." She looked both mutinous and mulish at the same time. "But don't let it give you any ideas. I'm my father's daughter, and I won't just throw myself away on just any wandering evil spirit. I'll expect some assurances, something more in the line of a settlement than just a lot of airy promises."

I LOVE HER

SO MUCH

&hearts &hearts&hearts &hearts&hearts &hearts&hearts &hearts&hearts &hearts&hearts &hearts&hearts &hearts&hearts &hearts&hearts &hearts&hearts &hearts

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Review - Jennifer's Body

Jennifer's Body is a tale of two movies, not of maintext versus subtext but two seperate movies fighting for dominance in which, ultimately, the oft-told (and tired) conventional one wins.

This basically sums up my feelings with the movie.

I enjoyed a lot of it. The actresses were very good--Megan Fox gave a lot to the character that the script didn't--and the visuals were pretty cool, but in the end it was just as disappointing as I expected it to be, if not more. That's a good review, though, without much spoilers, so if you're curious...

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Claudia Christian mentioned in a blog post the other day that a B5 director ("who had clearly never watched the show") had told her to play her scenes with Sheridan more "sexy and coquettish" and I had such a strong "EWNOGROSS" reaction that I had to step back and analyze why. I can handle all kinds of fic/pairings, even if I prefer to avoid them. But Sheridan/Ivanova disgusts me, and thinking about it I've come to the conclusion that it's because they're too much like siblings.

It's kind of funny, I suppose. I can handle all kinds of screwed-up pairings if I understand the kink, even if I don't share it. I can deal with non-con, power imbalance including parent/child incest, aliens... lots of stuff. And I'm on IJ substantially because I used to have a good friend who wrote and read Weasleycest, and while I wasn't into it I didn't like the idea of her ability to do so being restricted. But despite this, sibling incest remains one of my biggest squicks.

Maybe it's because I have siblings I'm close to, and the idea of people perverting that kind of relationship feels too close to home. But I have parents I'm close to, too, and I can handle parent/child type stuff. I suppose in the Sheridan/Ivanova case, there's the added factor that they're not related by blood or by legal definition, and I've got those siblings too and know how upsetting I'd find it if people ignored that and assumed that we were sexually involved. Ties in to the whole "a man and a woman can't be just friends ever" cultural assumption, which I hate because I used to be the girl who had all guy friends and wasn't into any of them, no, really, stop teasing me, Mum! *coughs* Tangent there. Anyway, I think there's another factor.

Actors are often treated as people whose job is to convey emotions, deliver lines, and embody personalities. They are, of course. But another job they do is play relationships, and they're often not as good at that. We've all seen a big romantic storyline completely fizzle because the main romance lacked chemistry. Then, too, parent-child dynamics on screen and stage often fall flat. But the most commonly disappointing relationships I'm used to seeing are sibling ones. Screen siblings, whether bickering or affectionate, tend to fail to convince. And so I guess when I see a sibling relationship I like, I really don't like seeing it taken through the "a man and a woman can't be just friends ever" cliché. So Sheridan and Ivanova, whose sibling vibe seems so clear to me, I can't bear to think of in a sexual situation.

(Claudia Christian, I may have mentioned, is brilliant at playing relationships. Yet another reason I love B5.)

In the mail (I only check my mail every couple of days, I checked it last night) I got 1) a notice of an inspection on the 8th and 2) paperwork to fill out because Social Security is reviewing my Disability.

It's too damn much. Why the hell are they doing inspections NOW? And I know they do periodic reviews of SSDI cases, but god, the TIMING!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I'm taking Faeon, Chad and Patrick out to a nice buffet, then coming home to wildly throw things into a suitcase. I leave for Loscon in Los Angeles tomorrow morning (and because of the logistics of getting me to the airport, Faeon will have to drive me out to an airport hotel tonight). From there I'm going straight to Austin for SMOFcon. I'll have my laptop, of course, so I won't be entirely without the internet - not sure I could survive that.

Happy Thanksgiving, USAians. Happy Thursday, rest of the world.