This is totally real. So, I'm talking to Julia about maybe coming to Boston and she's like ORLY? LINK! And I think she's sending me something about cheap flights. Oh, this is not the case! Please click this if you're down. THIS IS NOT A PARODY. My favorite parts are THE WHOLE THING.

I typed up this whole thing about Moonlight and deleted it since it was mean.

The headline on the above link is "Former Emo Jailed Over Teen Sex." Yes, you want to click it.


I'm not relentlessly upbeat, so don't read this if you're easily offended (if you're easily offended what are you even DOING here, haven't you noticed I've reverted back to my old personality lately?). ( Supernatural finale (because you're not tired of hearing about this, right?) )

Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Pairing: Buffy/Xander
Author on LJ: nemo_gravis
Author Website: Nemosity
Why this must be read: Nemo is one of the few of us who write Buffy/Xander and he doesn't pull his punches either. These stories are not light and fluffy. His Buffy and Xander are both flawed, and who wouldn't be after all they've been through. In the first story, Buffy meets Xander in Cairo, they get drunk and things happen. The second story is three years later and they are both still deeply affected by that night in Cairo. The second story is longer with more plot, but both are deeply insightful into the minds of Buffy and Xander. Lots of angst, lots of revelations, no shortage of sex (very explicit in places) and the possibility of future happiness. Neither of these are to be missed if you love Buffy/Xander.

For One Night Only
Two Ships

Title: Colors
Author: AnarossFandom: Firefly/Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Pairing: Spike/Zoe Washburn (mentions Spike/Buffy and Zoe/Wash)
Author on LJ: None that I know of
Author Website: Here at Just Rewards
Why this must be read: Anytime you put someone from a show that is set in this time into the Firefly universe you have to tread very carefully. When I initially came across this story I was willing to buy that Spike might have survived to five hundred years in the future. But that's not the case here. I won't spoil how he gets there, but he arrives after the events of the movie and fits in really well. Spike is hurting, as is Zoe and they form an unusual bond. Now I love Zoe/Wash so it takes a superb author to make me buy her with anyone else and Anaross is that author. There are two endings, I prefer the more serious one, but keep reading for the epilogue that brings everything full circle once again. This story is everything one could hope for in a good cross over.

I long for Pinkwater's Lizzard Music and cold summerwind.

I long for corn muffins and pins and needles and apple pie made by taking 1/3 with water first ahead of time and then folding folding until the dough resembles peas then work it woithout touching and roll until it is 1/8 in thick.

I long for the Bernina sewing machine where pins and needles hid and made quilted boxes stuffed with white cotton still sitting on a shelf.

I long for that piece of chicken I posed with during a photo shoot in the Sandia mountains when I was four.

I long for my cat Sam and my other cat Samantha who turned out to be Sam II.

I long for the bicycle my brother rode when a card click-whirled through its spokes in staccato beats. Fast Metronome.

I long for the metronome I left at camp when I was 13.

I long for the pins and needles I used to sew ribbons on pointe shoes by hand, each one took an hour, and I long for the pins my mother bought that time at Lou Anne's Sewing Shop.

I long for that needlepoint pattern grandma left on a piece of linen and I long for the first piece of thread she sewed.

I long for a day. Just one. Where needles and pins are confined to the tips of writers' quills and make things like corn muffins, boa constrictors, and Lizzard music read in the summertime far in the north where cold air greeted the earth each day.

My family is lousy at keeping in touch, with the exception of a couple of cousins. So I have a Google news alert set for all the family names, just to keep up on what they're doing if anything happens to hit the press. This may sound odd, but there are enough relatives who occasionally show up somewhere (not counting the reporters) that it's worthwhile.

And today it turned up a press release about one of my younger cousins (my cousin's daughter) who's putting out her first CD. There are links to some of the songs, and some photos. I've listened to a few of the cuts, but it's not my genre of music. Anyone want to let me know whether you think they're good or not? I've heard her sing occasionally, and she has a sweet voice, but the sample songs sound a little overproduced to me. Opinions, anyone?

ETA: She has a YouTube music vid: http://youtube.com/watch?v=lKkwefBUtxs
This is one of the songs I like.

slinkling seeks to translate the following phrases into as many languages as possible:

Do you sell chocolate in this store? (or any close equivalent, such as “where can I buy chocolate?” or “How much does the chocolate cost?”)

Where can I buy a guitar string? (or, “Are you familiar with the work of Pete Seeger?”)

I have hiked too much and I would like to ice my knee.

Real languages, fictional languages; living languages, dead languages; whatever you can muster, she wants 'em.

Read about the project (and leave translated phrases) here.

Today's fannish5 question is In what five fictional locations would you love to live?

5. Sitka

The one in Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policeman's Union. Okay, not for long, since I don't actually speak Yiddish, but it's just such a fascinating world that I'd love to visit it for a while.

4. Loch Laggan

The covert in Scotland where Laurence and Temeraire are trained in the first Temeraire book. I haven't been to Scotland in ten years, but there's a lot about it that suits me well. Plus: dragons!

3. Ferness

The town in Local Hero. (I mentioned that I like Scotland, didn't I?) The town doesn't exist, though I've been to the actual town where they filmed much of the movie, and eaten fish & chips in the pub...

2. Serenity

Clearly the crew of Serenity is in need of a shepherd these days. I could take that on, no problem. Okay, their life would probably drive me insane, but it'd be an awful lot of fun for a while.

1. Atlantis

And not just because it has pretty pretty people in it. *g* Seriously -- the city's practically sentient. It can fly. In what world is that not cool?

I'm watching the trailer for The Dollhouse, and I'm seriously in deep excitement about seeing this show. I love Whedon, he's not perfect, but I love his shows.

And I can't wait to see this one.

I have an unusual abuse/harassment story. An art critic wrote a viciously and sexually explicit 'review' of my show a year ago.
I'm sorry and I hope this isn't triggering for anyone. I'm sorry these questions have been asked a million times. Do delete this if it is inappropriate. I just needed somewhere to put this down.

1. Got the new hard drive installed on Tuesday; I'm still on the way to getting things back the way I like them.

2. Doing a lot of almost-writing lately. I've gathered nearly enough courage to start trying to write up the scribbles from my notebook.

3. It's getting cold here:

( gratuitous cat picture )

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed puzzles until I picked up Professor Layton and the Curious Village.