Quill to Parchment Awards

After a week and a half of pulling our hair out and shaking angry fists towards Luxembourg, we finally got back to what we should've been doing all along -- promoting this bloody Show! Yes, free publicity, RTL, why do you make this so hard?

The situation's not ideal by any means. Instead of capturing clips directly from the video stream like we used to, now we're stuck spending literally hours on screencaptures. It's totally draining -- the RTL player is, quite frankly, crap. Everytime it stalls, I have to rebuffer and restart the recording. On about a third of the files the soundtrack comes out wonky. And even at its best, the quality is jerky because it is, after all, a string of screencaps. THANK GOD THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN BEFORE REUNION!

Still! We posted episode* and we're getting comments again (they are like a drug, I tell you!) and I'm going to sit here and drink wine and spam like whoa. And if I have enough wine, I just might make a defiant "you can't take the Show sky from me" vid.

Hope you're all ready for an awesome weekend!


* This episode was nabbed before we left for Germany; it's not representative of the new stuff we're getting. You'll know what I mean when you see those in a few days. Boy, will you know what I mean.

Thanks to the most diligent alicit, we all now have a Harvest sprite on our scroll! *smishes her* Please turn the eggs and pet the dragons if you wish. Mind the teeth.

Little Halo's scroll and hatchling:

Little Secret's scroll and hatchling:

My scroll and eggs: ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

I was invited to contribute a Guest Blog at the review site, Book Wenches. The article focuses on the role of research fiction, using the way non-fiction contributed to the story ideas in Faewolf.

You can read it at: Underground Truth – Researching the Supernatural in a Paranormal Romance

And their review of Faewolf can be found HERE.

Once again, thanks to the most wonderful alicit we've got one more Harvest hatchie on our family scrolls. Pet the dragons and turn the eggs carefully! Thanks!

Little Halo's scroll and hatchling:

My scroll and eggs: ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_political/4543801.html
http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_political/4544200.html

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/05/texas.fort.hood.shootings/index.html

It's horrible.

Fort Hood is home to about 60,000 people. It is about the size of a city. It is the world's largest military base.

It happened in the solider readiness center which is the area where soliders get the last medical check-up before shipping out and coming in.

CNN is saying that ABC out of Waco (which is near Kileen) said the shooters named is major Malique Nadal Hassan.

There is 12 dead. 11 are victims. Of those 11 one was a civilian cop contracted as military police. One of those civilian MP's killed the shooter.

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/reports-of-mass-shooting-at-fort-hood/?hp

Update | 7:41 p.m. Given that Thursday’s shooting spree took place at a readiness center, where troops were about to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, the subject will certainly turn to combat stress. A description of the work of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, where Major Nidal Hasan, the suspected gunman who was killed on Thursday at Fort Hood, says this:

The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) addresses both the invisible and visible wounds of war through research, education and consultation. The invisible wounds of war include the mental health consequences of deployment. These can range from normal distress to the treatable mental disorders of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Warrior wounds can also involve health risks such as increased use of tobacco, alcohol and/or drugs that can result in violence to self, spouse and/or children.

Update | 7:22 p.m. Information about Dr. Nidal Hasan posted on a Virginia Board of Medicine Web site includes a note that he saw patients at Darnell Army Medical Center Monday through Friday.

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2009/11/05/officials_shooting_suspect_dis.html

Officials: Shooting suspect discussed suicide bombings, other threats online
Thursday, November 5, 2009, 07:30 PM

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS:

Federal law enforcement officials say the suspected Fort Hood, Texas, shooter had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats.

One of the Web postings that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.

“To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. Its more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause,” said the Internet posting. “Scholars have paralled (sic) this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers.”

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/blotter/entries/2009/11/05/official_fort_hood_shooting_su.html

Official: Fort Hood shooting suspect not dead
By American-statesman staff | Thursday, November 5, 2009, 08:17 PM

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the suspect in the Fort Hood shootings, has not been killed and is in stable condition at a hospital, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said at a press conference at Fort Hood.

He is in custody at an undisclosed hospital, Cone said.

Three soldiers taken into custody after the shootings were released, he said. Investigators believe Hasan acted alone.

“Evidence does not suggest this was a terrorist event,” Cone said.

One of the first people to shoot Hasan was a civilian police officer who was shot but survived, said Cone, who added that earlier reports of a civilian officer dying were incorrect.

Global treaty could throw file-sharers off Internet after ‘three strikes’ (November 05, 2009 - Raw Story - Daniel Tencer)

File-sharers could be jailed under proposed ACTA provisions

Leaked details of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement being negotiated in secret by most of the world's largest economies suggest Internet file-sharers could be blocked from accessing the Internet if they are repeatedly accused of sharing copyrighted material, say media and digital-rights watchdogs.

And the worst-case scenario could see popular Web sites like YouTube and Flickr shut down because of a provision in the treaty that would force them to monitor everything uploaded to the site for copyright violations.

Internet law professor Michael Geist published details of "leaked" portions of the discussions on ACTA on his blog Tuesday, as a new round of ACTA negotiations began in Seoul, South Korea. The US, along with all the countries of the European Union as well as Japan, Canada, Australia and a handful of other countries, are involved in the negotiations.

"The provisions would pave the way for a globalized three-strikes and you're out system," Geist blogged Wednesday, referring to a proposal from copyright holders to have Internet service providers cut off service to anyone accused at least three times of illegally sharing copyrighted material.

"This means that your entire family could be denied [access] to the Internet -- and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living -- if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel," blogged tech writer and digital-rights supporter Cory Doctorow.

Doctorow also noted that another provision being proposed for the treaty would mean "that ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn't infringing will exceed any hope of profitability."

And, as Geist noted in a follow-up article on Wednesday, the proposed treaty could end up seeing file-sharers jailed for sharing copyrighted material, even if they had no financial gain from the transaction.

Geist wrote that the treaty, as currently proposed, would "extend criminal enforcement to both (1) cases of a commercial nature; and (2) cases involving significant willful copyright and trademark infringement even where there is no direct or indirect motivation of financial gain. In other words, non-commercial infringement could lead to criminal penalties."

"The US government appears to be pushing for Three Strikes to be part of the new global IP enforcement regime which ACTA is intended to create -– despite the fact that it has been categorically rejected by the European Parliament and by national policymakers in several ACTA negotiating countries, and has never been proposed by US legislators," writes Gwen Hinze at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

ACTA negotiations were being held entirely in secret until this past May, when the Wikileaks Web site released a 2007 draft proposal.

The Obama administration has resisted attempts to make the negotiations public, though it did make an exemption for a long list of senior executives at major corporations.

In June, the administration announced it would continue the ACTA negotiations started under the previous administration.

ACTA is being touted as an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. It's not. It's a vastly reaching copyright enforcement law that will be far more powerful, malicious, destructive than DMCA. This treaty is being designed in SECRET by members or people, whom we do not know their names because of "national security" as agents of our government and 40 other nations.

As a citizen of this nation YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY RIGHT TO EVEN LOOK AT THE WHAT THE TREATY IS PROPOSING! As a worker of any big company you do, but you have to sign a non-disclousre agreement in compesation of being able to read it.

Why? Because the Government, Bush and Obama, have deemed this as a National Security necessary secret.

Other Nations have sued or been given a look at the all powerful secrety treat that is still in the works. It's been in the works since 2007. But us? Oh no, we are given the National Security excuse and told that is all we need to know.

Now we know. Now we are pissed and now we are scared. Because now we know, through a leaked document, what this treaty is about to propose.

Have any of you EVER downloaded music, video, images, wrote fanfiction? Because now through ACTA if you have and if you have been given a take-down notice by the propose owners of the copyright material that you have SUPPOSEDLY violated, then after three times your ISP will be ordered by the GOVERNMENT to take away your homesteads internet service.

That's right, your internet service of your instead house/apartment, etc.

That means even if you yourself have NEVER downloaded ANYTHING at all and only use your computer as a means to surf the internt to check your e-mail but your kid or husband has then ALL OF YOU lose your internet.

This is also most likely going to be in addition of some fine for violation of copyright law and even possibly JAIL TIME!

Don't believe me? Think I'm just over reacting to things?

Then read what the experts are saying:

* That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn't infringing will exceed any hope of profitability.

* That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet -- and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living -- if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel.

* That the whole world must adopt US-style "notice-and-takedown" rules that require ISPs to remove any material that is accused -- again, without evidence or trial -- of infringing copyright. This has proved a disaster in the US and other countries, where it provides an easy means of censoring material, just by accusing it of infringing copyright.

* Mandatory prohibitions on breaking DRM, even if doing so for a lawful purpose (e.g., to make a work available to disabled people; for archival preservation; because you own the copyrighted work that is locked up with DRM)
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/03/secret-copyright-tre.html

( cut )


LINKS on what ACTA is:
Lawfont.com: ACTA: here we go again? (Australia)
Lawfont.com: Geist on ACTA (Australia)
Electronic Frontiers Australia (Australia)
InternetNZ alarmed by latest ACTA leaks (New Zealand)
ip-watch.org
WikiLeaks: ACTA search
Wiki Leaks: Talk:Classified US, Japan and EU ACTA trade agreement drafts, 2009
Wiki Leaks: Classified US, Japan and EU ACTA trade agreement drafts, 2009
Petition to Obama - keionline.org
The ACTA Internet Chapter: Putting the Pieces Together
ACTA Negotiations, Day Two: What's On Tap
ACTA Internet Chapter Leak Signals Far-Reaching Copyright Policy
Leaked ACTA Internet Provisions: Three Strikes and a Global DMCA
ISPs Soon Forced to Police Your Internet Behavior?
Secret Anti-Piracy Treaty Turns ISPs into Pirates
EU Breaks Deadlock in Debate Over Right to Internet Access (November 05, 2009 - PC World - Paul Meller, IDG News Service)



That is it. I've had it about these fucking companies influencing laws and governments and getting their fucking way. I've had it.

I'm emailing my congressman. I'm linking to these articles. they have got to know this isn't about piracy anymore this uninforcable and its trying to censor the internet!!

I'm going to write out a long e-mail to my local newspapers.

It is time that we stood up and told these fuckers, no more. Just because I do a little downloading here and there does not mean I am not entitled to my rights as a human being.

this law will make it to where the burden of proof lies on me that I didn't break the law. It is almost impossible to defend against this law. They could say I illegally downloaded music when maybe I just ripped a cd I bought to play music on my computer.

Or about webpages or youtube. They could say that all the film about the Iran Riots and Protests is copywrited and if I uploaded any of it that I'm a pirate.

This, this is fucking insane.

Which was kinda weird to see -- I mean, mentally I've been trying to brace myself*, but when I looked out the window to see things moving nearly horizontally across my view, my first thought was "what an odd rain." (Followed quickly by nooooooooooooooooooooo.)

Also, deakat is a goddess! She waved her magic wand over my laptop (she called it installing drivers, but I caught a glimpse of her wand before she stashed it away) and now my screencapture software works, and we maybe have an (albeit imperfect) workaround to nab episodes of AWZ.

To celebrate, we watched Bandits, which was AWESOME! Wonderful cracky fun right up until the end. (The end which I have recut in my head.) And now I have a long list of new movies I must see staring Katja Riemann *sigh* My work is never done.

So in conclusion, today looks a bit brighter than yesterday, despite the grey snow clouds overhead.



* Sorry, much as I love Canada, this transplanted Texan is never going to fully embrace winter. At least I don't run screaming to the Dominican Republic anymore...

Title: Harry Potter and The Charming Prince (Book Seven in The Bound Prince Series.)
Authors: slashpervert, with co-authors sayingsorry_hh and brknhalo241.
Betas: asm614 and Mini Mouse.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: ADULT
Genre: Romance, Smut
Pairing: Draco/Harry. Others (Mark to Read): One time - Harry/Draco/Fred/George
Book Length: 128,000? Words (40+? Chapters)
Warnings (Mark to Read): Language, M/M Explicit Sex, Anal, Oral, Rimming, Bondage, Dom/Sub, SM, Jealousy, Consensual Non-Monogamy, Foursome, Mpreg, Exhibitionism, Character Death (not D/H).
Summary: Harry and Draco have the peace and happiness of which they dreamed. This is an extended epilogue to The Bound Prince series with “snapshots” of Harry, Draco and their children's lives in the ten years after book six.
Notes: sayingsorry_hh and slashpervert wrote the first draft of this volume in the winter of 2008-2009. sayingsorry_hh left the project then, but gave slashpervert and brknhalo241 permission to finish writing and editing the book without her. AU from Chapter 24 of HPB. BP books 1-5 written before the release of DH. This is book seven, immediately following Harry Potter and The Dragon’s Treasure. The beginning of the story, book one, is Harry Potter and The Bound Prince. Icon adapted by slashpervert from THIS ART by isinuyasha.
Disclaimer: This is a non-commercial work of fan fiction intended for adult audiences only. No copyright infringement intended. (Full Disclaimer!)

Chapter Number/Total: 36/41
Chapter Title: Looking for Trouble
Words: 2741 Words

( Chapter 36: Looking for Trouble )

If I just crawl back into bed and burrow under the covers, will the world be better when I wake up? I feel like every bit of the shiny world I was in last week has disappeared.

First RTL goes and closes the loophole that let us capture episodes. aldiara and I are sitting amidst piles of hair ripped from our heads while searching for a workaround. It's all extra-maddening because we came home from such a high, ready to dive into all the exciting stuff that we know is coming... and suddenly the door's slammed in our faces.

Then they make things worse by (we think) discontinuing free episodes. I say "we think" because there's no communication of any sort, just a price tag on the current episode. So much for encouraging people to watch the source! How can a corporation be so shortsighted? They have to give a little free to hook people for more -- have they learned nothing from drug pushers. But no, they really don't understand fandom or anything more than making disposable, mediocre entertainment that nobody would ever want to watch more than once.

(But maybe it's just a glitch, and maybe they'll get it fixed, and maybe we'll be able to download eps again. *flings glitter feebly*)

I'm weary from it all though. And then I read about Maine. What is this voting on civil rights bullshit? Last week, in a moment of pissiness over Harper, I said that Canada was no better than the U.S. I officially retract those words.

Hmmm, sorry for the super cranky post. Let's see. THINGS WOT ARE GOOD:

*I have gummi bears.
*My cat's snuggling because it's cold.
*I only have one more client to finish before 6.
*Massive trip report is getting a good response. I admit, I feel the crankiness fade while reading these comments.

Turn my eggs, please, if you wish otherwise just scroll on past.

My scroll and eggs: ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Well we all know how Main's Prop 1 went. 87% of it counted and it went to the YES. I call voter fraud and a recount. Nate said it would be NO by 70%. Something is wrong here.

Oh btw, Main passed the medical marijuna distributing bill. So they get their dope but no gay marriages.

Houston is most likely going to have a gay Mayor.

New York City elected two Asians to office, one citywide as comptroller and the other in Manhattan as councilwoman.

Boomberg wasted a lot of money to get his squeaked by win. Which is pissing off the Democrats because the Democratic Party didn't even campaign hard for their guy.

Washington is about to extend domestic partner benefits to same sex parters. In essence they are getting the separate but equal clause of 'gay marriage' not in name. Nate Silver is suggesting that maybe the GBLT should focus on this a compromise to get the benefits to same sex parterns. But we all know that once it gets passed (Nationwide) it will eventually get challenged in the Supreme Court because separate but equal is unconstitutional in all regards.

It seems that Austin passed it so that it is expanding COBRA+ to domestic partners. Since you know in 2006 Texas made the constitutional amendment where Gay Marriage and Civil Unions are not ALLOWED or RECOGNIZED.

And ALL 11 propositions passed in Texas.

They've got the boards up for the hockey rink in the park.

*shivers on principle*

Was a bit of a bum this week but I had some extrordinary circumstances going on in RL. seriously don't want to get into that right now. But I did manage to finish a few things. ownficfest will be posting the reveals soon, and fall_fantasia has started posting so YAY!

Completed:

Detention(Harry/Severus, NC-17, 1,100)

Lily's Diary (Marauder Era; Lily/James, baby Harry, Remus, and Peter, PG, 346)

Weekly/monthly drabbles/ficlets/fics:
1. snape100 changes every Sunday
2. harry100changes every Monday
3. draco100 changes every Monday
4. snupin100 changes every Tuesday
5. slythindor100 changes when the mod remembers *g*
6. neville100 changes every Thursday
7. snarry100 changes every Thursday
8. lupin100 changes every Saturday
9. daily_deviant 2nd of every month

Fests
1. severus_shorts due Oct 31st
2. snapelyholidays due Nov 13th Started
3. harry_holidays due Nov 20th Planning
4. daily_deviant's Kinky Kristmas due Nov 30th Started
5. snarry_swapdue Dec 14th Planning

Yesterday I knuckled down to do my ten mandatory minutes of writing for wrisomifu and almost pulled my hair out.

Today I woke up and spent an hour scribbling down 500+ words of DeRo sling porn without breaking a sweat.

My brain baffles me sometimes.

***

Cryptic P.S. to Possibly Helpful But Totally Condescending Tech Support Dude: While I appreciate your technical advice, IF YOU COUCH IT BY TALKING DOWN TO ME LIKE I AM A NAIVE TEEN MORE USED TO READING TIGER BEAT THAN PRESS KITS, I AM GOING TO SHOVE YOUR BALLS THROUGH A SAUSAGE GRINDER.

Thanks to the lovely alicit I have a Harvest egg! I am also trying to match up my other dragons by pairing so if these don't gender correctly they are up for trade, if anyone cares for one. They are fairly common dragons with the exception of the Black and Green dragons.

My scroll and eggs: ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

No wonder our system is so damn broken. they our robbing us blind.

U.S. Medical Prices Highest In the World
Posted by: Cathy Arnst on November 02

There is a set of charts flying around the policy blogosphere today that starkly illustrates why the U.S. devotes almost 18% of its gross domestic product to health care spending, while other wealthy nations spend no more than 10% or 11%: Because we pay far, far more per unit of care than any other country.

The 36-page document was put together in September by the International Federation of Health Plans, which represents 100 insurers in 31 countries. It consists of a number of charts that show the difference between what the U.S. pays for any number of medical services, and what other industrialized countries pay.

Title: Harry Potter and The Charming Prince (Book Seven in The Bound Prince Series.)
Authors: slashpervert, with co-authors sayingsorry_hh and brknhalo241.
Betas: asm614 and Mini Mouse.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: ADULT
Genre: Romance, Smut
Pairing: Draco/Harry. Others (Mark to Read): One time - Harry/Draco/Fred/George
Book Length: 128,000? Words (40+? Chapters)
Warnings (Mark to Read): Language, M/M Explicit Sex, Anal, Oral, Rimming, Bondage, Dom/Sub, SM, Jealousy, Consensual Non-Monogamy, Foursome, Mpreg, Exhibitionism, Character Death (not D/H).
Summary: Harry and Draco have the peace and happiness of which they dreamed. This is an extended epilogue to The Bound Prince series with “snapshots” of Harry, Draco and their children's lives in the ten years after book six.
Notes: sayingsorry_hh and slashpervert wrote the first draft of this volume in the winter of 2008-2009. sayingsorry_hh left the project then, but gave slashpervert and brknhalo241 permission to finish writing and editing the book without her. AU from Chapter 24 of HPB. BP books 1-5 written before the release of DH. This is book seven, immediately following Harry Potter and The Dragon’s Treasure. The beginning of the story, book one, is Harry Potter and The Bound Prince. Icon adapted by slashpervert from THIS ART by isinuyasha.
Disclaimer: This is a non-commercial work of fan fiction intended for adult audiences only. No copyright infringement intended. (Full Disclaimer!)

Chapter Number/Total: 35/41
Chapter Title: The Limits of Magic
Words: 2347 Words

( Chapter 35: The Limits of Magic )

Tomorrow is election day in some states. Some for Governors others for Mayors.

For us in Texas we have 11 Constitutional Amendments going up for vote.

The Burnt Orange Report has a great lowdown on what they are and what major newspapers are endorsing and their own endorsements.

Me, No on Prop 1-3, Yes on Prop 4-8, No on Prop 9-11.

I know a lot of people support Prop 9 (Open Beaches Act) and Prop 11 (Eminent Domain) but I'm against them. First, 9 is taking people's property away from them in cases of land eroison that cause public beaches to become private property. And 11 is just going to screw up the emminent domain laws more than what it is already is and will not FIX/REFORM them. Not to mention that Governor Goodhair (Perry) and Hutchinson and the Texas Tea Party LIKE it!

And seriously there are some amendments here that are ridiculous. Did Prop 5 and Prop 7 really have to exist? Seriously, couldn't we have made LAWS and not constitutional amendments? I know 7 is to add the National Guard to exempt that already has everyone else added...but couldn't we have just tossed the old amendment out and just made a new LAW that did the same thing?

What about Prop 5? A constitutional admendment to dictate how apprasial boards work in concert with each other?!

And Prop 10?! "Proposition 10 would ... allow members of governing boards of Texas emergency service districts to serve terms not to exceed four years." --League of Women Voters Guide


Austin Chronicle: YES. "But trivial, and this belongs in ordinary legislation, not the state constitution."

El Paso Times: YES. "This would provide more continuity and experience on the boards."

Fort Worth Star-Telegram: NO. "This is goofy. There's no good reason why board members of obscure districts in Harris County should have longer terms than members of the Texas House."

Houston Tea Party Patriots: No Endorsement.

Sen. Kirk Watson's "Watson Wire:" YES. It "would lengthen the term of emergency services district board members from two to four years."

*sighs* *shakes head*

Oh for god's sake why can't Texas do something logical for a change!!!

My daily_deviant fic is up, and while it's not the one I had planned on using, (maybe I'll get back to that one day) I do hope you'll enjoy it.

Title: Detention
Author: unbroken_halo
Characters/Pairings: Harry/Severus
Rating: NC-17
Kinks/Themes Chosen: Costumes
Other Warnings: wall sex, role playing, bottom!Snape
Word Count: 1,100
Summary/Description: Severus supervises Harry's detention.
Author's Notes: Err… I chickened out of the clamp/torture fic I had planned, so you get Snarry instead, yay! Thanks to eeyore9990 for the encouragement and the superfast beta! *mucha smoocha* darling.