the refuge from nowhere

At first glance, this video looks as exploitive as any of Britney Spears teenage forays (Lingerie! Writhing! Shoes!) except that at its core it's revealed to be campy, fun and gloriously girl positive, for straight and gay ladies alike. Especially with it's "surprise" ending.

(It does get points off for not enough variety of body types and lacking that sparkly touch of butch, but what else is new?)

Girls are pretty! And kissable! Be not ashamed!

Enjoy the silly. And the hot. :D

Just found out one of the side effects of my anti-anxiety meds is a removal of inhibitions, especially verbal.

Guess that why I told one of the contractors who is working on my house and fucking up the job that I hope a crane falls on him.

Doh. That's something I don't normally do.

*snort*

BTW, I'm not dead, just trying to survive major house renovations. I also don't have the patience or stomach for a lot of fandom right now, which is all right. No need to flounce, taking some time off on my own is always the better thing to do, right?

I'm still watching BSG on and off and it's getting a little interesting again, mostly because Gaeta is rocking so hard. I know he's the Fifth Cylon because, duh, all the resistance leaders on New Caprica? All sekrit Cylons and who was the one last discovered, not even known by the other major resistance leaders/Final Four Cylons -- Tigh, Tyrol, Tory and Anders? Gaeta, who also had a red lining in his jacket that you can see in a couple of scenes -- Hidden Cylon Sign Number 1008.

But, he won't be the Last Cylon. Nope, RDM will pull a Super Sekrit Surprise Thirteenth out of his behind because you know he can't resist it.

If I'm wrong, I'll go apologize to my contractor. Really.

Certain folks in the SPN fandom want to make a "review board" rec community, one that will list only fics that have passed the criteria of a select panel of readers.

This goes over as expected.

I've been through the wankstorms of endeavors like this since mailing lists first began. Good intentions, blood-red brick road to hell, yadda, yadda and every time I think about writers getting their fics recc'd in these elite communities (or desperately trying to) I'm reminded of that quote from the Marquise de Merteuil about seducing a married woman:

"It's commonplace if you succeed, humiliating if you don't."

(Not to mention how many times I've been recc'd "classic must-reads" that were giant balls of flaming dog poop. I know I'm not alone in that one.)

See, the problem with finding (and creating) the perfect rec community is that the responsibility of discovery is on the reader, not the reccer. There is no one reccer that will be a good fit for every reader -- in fact, I'd doubt if any one community would find a consensus of what's good fic with 25%-40% of readers during any given time period. Tastes fluctuate wildly, from reader to reader, day to day and one gal's poison is another's Turkish Delight, even if the fic is, technically, well-done.

It's up to the reader to find the reccers that have similar tastes and preferences and stick to them like glue, not the reccer to find something they think is the greatest thing since Ulysses and expect everyone, or even a slight majority, to squeal in agreement.

This is why the Crack Van communities are such a good idea because along with the fics, they highlight various reccers, among whom the reader might find a kindred soul --albeit with a stomach of iron and damaged eyes that have suffered far too many indignities while sifting through the garbage for your benefit.

Anyone can make a list of fic. It's a rare reccer who'll make lists of fics I'll enjoy more often than not. And it's a misguided person that will tell me up front what I will be sure to love just because they say so, unless it's been pre-determined we have roughly the same idea about what constitutes a great read.

Heath Ledger found dead in his apartment.

Wow, what a waste.

I'm so angry, I can barely articulate it. We didn't all chip in for that permanent account to preserve her genius so that some little pretentious ass weasel could try and claim it for his own. My friend is dead, asshole. Can't you please have AN OUNCE of shame?

The funny thing? Thamiris would be eye-rolling and amused although as an academic, she might have used the entire thing as a warning tale to her students.

PS: boyan_fraser, I hate you. "Wannabe writer" indeed.

A blessed Noel to those who celebrate.

Top Ten Ways in Which the Organization of Transformative Works Is Made of Epic Failure. by the brilliant ohinternets who says everything I wish I had the energy to express.

OTW is very much its own tiny niche that is attempting to generalize itself as normative. Because in my experience, the audience for this kind of thing is very small; only very specific types of personalities are interested in definining and cataloguing all of fandom into neat, organized, defensible little categories, and only n00bs and fandom social climbers are interested in listening.

~*~

I have to make dinner for eight by 2:00 pm. I was out until 4am drinking and dancing. I'm a SCREWED like a SCREWED THING. Glergh.

But it was fun.

Five of Ambrose and the Queen, two of Glitch and Cain.

I love this scene so much. *sigh*

Sample:

( A real cut... )

Comments loved, credit if you care to, sharing a must. Please take and enjoy. :D

Oh, Tin Man. How are you so awesome?

( We're off to see the Mystic Man... )

Anyway, my new Glitch/Cain icon. Because Cain makes him feel like those ladies at the dance. Oh my.

Downloaded and watched "Tin Man" part 1 last night and for all its flaws, I really enjoyed it. Too bad the lead actress is so, I dunno, comatose? (She looks horribly old too, maybe it's her hair color? I know she must be in her twenties, but she looks like Margot Kidder did maybe ten years ago, which certainly wasn't when she was in her twenties.) And the other lead actress isn't much better, acting wise. *booo* (But rock that green eyeshadow, baby!)

Anyway, the men are *smoking* hot, omg. *kicks Part Two to download faster*

I'll have a less shallow review once I've seen it all.

~*~

Got an email reply from my cousin in Europe after I asked her how her Christmas preparations were going. She replied, like the good med student she is, "it's stressful, but thankfully it's the same procedure every year."

Procedure. LOL! She's so cute.

( Finished the book, The Golden Compass last night ... )

There's probably other stuff, but that's off the top of my head. I suppose I'll read "The Subtle Knife" but after the holidays. I have no burning need to go there now.

All right, so I'm not a total slob or anything. My house is relatively neat and clean -- especially after a "throw out EVERYTHING" OCD binge -- but I have one slight problem area.

The coffee pot.

I, uh, rarely wash it. I dunno what it is about me, about the pot, but it's a drip carafe on a black coffee maker (because a white one would turn black in a week anyway) and I just sort of slosh some running water around in it after dumping the contents of the last pot and away we go. I do this for, um, the half-life of the pot I guess or I would if my girlfriend (a tea-drinker to the core) didn't occasionally pluck the pot out of its comfy nook and look at it sort of the way the SPN fandom looks at female love interests, minus the rage.

Her eyes narrow, her mouth twists, she frowns deeply; she's disgusted to the core. "Are you going to wash this?"

There are a lot of answers to this question but I need my coffee NOW so I quickly shake my head. "Oh, no. It's ... uh ... seasoned just the way I like it."

Her frown reaches her collarbones. "Seasoned? You think this is seasoned?"

"Yeah, like a wok. More flavor."

By this time I'm grabbing for the pot which she is keeping away from me, holding up and back. Not that I couldn't tackle her for it but ... "THIS ISN'T A WOK. IT'S A HORRIBLE, DIRTY, FILTHY COFFEE POT."

Now I'm offended. Stupid tea drinkers, thinking they are all clean and special and stuff. "Coffee's a dirty drink. Give it to me," I say, grabbing the pot triumphantly. Ah-hah!

Unfortunately, the light from the kitchen window is shining through -- okay, on -- the pot which I'm seeing like I've rarely seen it before and oh my god, it's nearly too gross and encrusted for God's sunlight to penetrate. It is an archaeological artifact without the benefit of a few thousand years of muck gathering and I've been drinking its cesspool'ish contents for months.

"See?" she says, sounding a lot like that proper English lady who sat with those chimps for fifty years and stuck with them no matter how disgusting they were. "How about washing it now? The right way?"

When someone is right, they're right. Recognizing this is what separates us from our furry cousins. "Okay," I reply and when she leaves ...

I make sure to slosh that water around in there ... twice.

Humanity, here I come.

~*~

I mentioned Eisley in the last post (a band introduced to me by a secret in that wacky Fandom!Secrets, who knew?) and this album by them makes me happy and feel young again. It's really so wonderful. Try "Golly Sandra" or "I Wasn't Prepared".

Room Noises by Eisley (60MBs)

~*~

Is anyone else's GMail really freaking out? My spam folder is like, exploding as I sit and watch it, the numbers ticking up by the minute. Hmmm ... hope I haven't picked up a virus.

When is fandom going to get over this obsession with proving itself an egalitarian community when that's not, will never and cannot be the case?

Why this weird need to umbrella what amounts to an asteroid field, millions of individual rocks that occasionally get caught in each other's orbit for long periods of time, sometimes crashing into each other accidentally (sometimes with violent intent) while others float peacefully in their own space forever, unknowing and uncaring of what's going on on the other side of the belt?

Why are we setting ourselves up to violently argue over what constitutes a fan? Are we a male space or a female one or something that should be defined fandom by fandom or should we even ponder such an exclusionary question? Do we really want to be "umbrella"'d with anyone or anything that is created under the as-yet-undetermined definition of "transformative works" -- a definition that will probably become so broad as to be meaningless or so restrictive as to divide fandom along untenable lines?

Is there some kind of punishment for not playing along? Where will the Island of Misfit Fen be located? (I just want to know so I can start scoping the better parcel of swamp land for myself -- unlike you communists I'm old enough to recognize the value of "be prepared".)

All joking aside, I know that part of being an online fan invites a certain amount of control-freakishness but this is getting silly. How about we let the asteroid field revolve, expand, shrink, destruct and rebuild on its own without trying to mash it all together into an impossible, seething lump restrained by unnatural boundaries? Fandom has always been the product of its own uneven evolution, a combination of new technology, old-fashioned ingenuity and sheer human talent -- as well as intensely ugly human foibles.

I mean, I personally don't care what happens as I know a. where I stand and b. exactly where this thing is headed and that just means more amusement for me in my dotage. Still, the control-freak part of me wishes I could gently steer folks away from the oncoming poopstorm ...

Nah. Bring on the funny. I'll be over here with the liquor and exploding cigars.

This is a quote about Ina Garten ("The Barefoot Contessa") I love:

Every single one of her shows has a pound of butter, a cocktail and a homo. It's a life to which I aspire.

Win.

(Even if Ina's deadly food with enough sugar and processed carbs to kill an elephant isn't really something I eat anymore. And no, it's not that pound of butter that will get you in the pancreas.)

This song by Mary J. Blige is MADE OF WIN AND AWESOME AND PRETTY.

Her hair is out of the world too. And her clothes. And everything else. She is definitely my celebrity crush.

NEEDS MOAR ICONS.

Lots of people on my flists are kinda down today. So here's a short list of unrelated things that are making me happy at the moment.

( this picture needs no explanation )

( this holiday cookie recipe was cheap and easy and good )

I'm almost done with my "Enchanted", er, perfectly legal copy.

There's also a "Tin Man' marathon on Sci-Fi network tomorrow, starting at 5pm. If the Jets are the 1:00 pm game, I'm good to go.

Oh, and my Christmas shopping is almost done. My cards are ordered from Shutterfly and WTF??? I'M WINNING AT CHRISTMAS, YAY!!!

I just joined wine at InsaneJournal. Mmmm.

What's making YOU happy today?

The Russians are coming!
At least we now know why LJ was "spiffying" things up in such a hurry the past couple of months.

Oh, LJ. *snerk*

Stupid 12 Days of Christmas box meme is stupid but I laughed anyway at the fifth day ...

( Fiiiive.... )

Also, to be filed under 'I used to be pissed off, now I'm just laughing' -- Livejournal's content flagging system goes live.

Not ... enough... popcorn ... in the world, my friends.

Maybe I'll try to go back to writing or something. Offline. *snorf*

Proof that the supernatural_tv LJ community was stolen from its legitimate owner by the person who just tried to steal the dean_sam community.</a>

It's lazy, greedy bitches like you who make me distrustful of the human race, dearies.

There is still a certain code of honor in this wasteland we call the Internet. Yes, it's small and it's broken and often abused, but I can't think of anything more despicable than handing a person your cybertrust and then they mow you down and take your shit once they get a hold of it.

Over the past 12 years I've often trusted people with my passwords, my sites and my communities, to tweak or peek or for learning purposes. After I read about this particular incident last year (and it was through very deep channels as the SPN fandom is -- was? -- more terrified of losing their reputation than their integrity for some unknown reason), never again do I trust anyone with my cyberstuff.

Ever.

It's easy to start your own community, but yes, it's inconvenient because you want everything that's already in place, right? All those members and activity and all the perks that go with being a mod of a rockin' comm, right? Why start over? Why not take what is already there due to someone else's initiative and hard work? Why not take what is not yours?

Well, screw you. It's not yours and obtaining it by underhanded, slimy means should be punishable by The Great Dogpile of Shun, if nothing else.

SPN fandom, you have a lot of problems, to say the least, but letting this kind of thing fester in whispers and innuendo for this long is only going to make things worse. The bad folks are going to walk all over you while you sit back and bite your thumbs and trust me, it's better to publish and be damned than to be poked up the arse by the likes of these awful jerks, not once, but again and again, until you finally tire of it.

Of course, by then, everyone will have moved to Bandom. Yep.

digitalwave started a fabulous new community for holiday wish lists, wishlist_07 which is *exactly* what I needed. A place to scroll through posted wishlists repeatedly, granting what things I can right off the bat, easy and quick, as well as storing up ideas for future gifting. This fannish holiday thing is so much easier when it's all in one place, yes.

The best part? I'm finding great fic and OMG GREAT ART (NWS) as a browse. Damn, that's hot stuff.

I might even post my own list this year. Not that I'll get any of it, because I only love what most folks hate it seems. LOL, OPPRESSED!

Although I'm going to claim Chore War points for not wanking on the latest Fandom!Secrets post. It was close, but I refrained, more or less. But Bela *and* Iroh hatin' in a single post?

I ain't that strong. Especially with the Iroh hatin'. OMG, what planet of blind stupidity do you live on? (Not that I don't think you're a troll because you probably are, but ... NO, REALLY, WHAT GALAXY OF MORON DID YOU FLY IN FROM?)

A big thanks to researchgrrrl for giving me this copy of "Warm Leatherette" by Grace Jones. You're a scientist, right? I'll just mail you what's left of my brain after the 1,000th listen, okay? It'll be the nubbly , pea-sized thing in your Christmas card. ;)