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lore's eclectibles |
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SS/RL Resources |
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lore's eclectibles |
| BloMo25: Song of the Moment and some doubts.... |
Wednesday November 25, 2009 11:59 PM |
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This will be hard, but I thought I'd talk about a song I've been pondering a while: ( Meet Me on the Equinox lyrics and video link ) Ok, I can see Severus starting the song and Remus finishing it, but I don't necessarily like the "Everything ends" chorus. It's certainly a good canon song for them, and I can see around "everything ends" by it meaning something more elusive in the future or as Severus' doubts. But what do you all think? Add it to my mental Snape/Lupin soundtrack or not? And we'll just forget what really inspired this song, natch. ~_^ ***** In other news, We've come up with a contest for ![[info]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small} snupin_santa readers this year called Stuff the Stockings. Interested? Check it out!love, lore
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| BloMo24: OMG HOW DID IT GET THIS LATE?.... |
Tuesday November 24, 2009 11:56 PM |
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I have on "Glove You So Much" OPI nail polish. It's a lovely, wine colour with more brown than purple in the red, and it shimmers just a bit. Only I put it on too thick and have bubbles, which mar the effect. Is there any way to put on more than one coat of nail polish without bubbling? Man! love, lore
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| BloMo23: Doggies.... |
Monday November 23, 2009 11:53 PM |
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We're watching my sister's dogs while the lucky biatch is in Italy. They're Schnauzers, but one is 14 and on her last legs. She takes a ton of medicine, is all skin and bones, has to be walked on peril of accidents in the house and coughs like an old man. But she's kind of the family dog, because she started with my sister and father, then was just with my father, then went to my mother after he died, and is now back with my sister because she was too much for mom. It's a little heartbreaking, and a lot smelly. ^_^ But it's nice to have this time with her before she goes. ***** I meant to write about something else, but I ran out of time. *laugh* love, lore
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| Natterings.... |
Sunday November 22, 2009 7:10 AM |
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| BloMo22: lore and Snupin, part II.... |
Sunday November 22, 2009 6:51 AM |
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As I ended yesterday, I was preparing for my Epic Campaign to encourage more Snape/Lupin. By Epic Campaign, I really mean that I decided to comment on every Snape/Lupin I came across, and that anytime I saw anyone offering drabbles or art, I would ask for Snape/Lupin. Now, you have to understand, the RPG was my first attempt at interacting with fandom. I don't think I had even commented on many journals then. So, when I say I started commenting and asking for drabbles/art, this was a big deal for me. I made myself one ground rule: Don't say anything to anyone that I wouldn't want to hear myself as a creator. That meant not asking when the next chapter of a Work in Progress might be out or asking for a sequel, or commenting to someone else without actually commenting on the fic or art itself. Two years of lurking will at least teach you what not to do. There were times when I worried that some regular Snape/Lupin writers (*cough* McKay, Arion *cough*), were going to think I was a stalker, but I toughed it out in the name of more Snape/Lupin. ^_^ I'd like to think that my enthusiastic squee and encouragement helped inspire more Snape/Lupin in some small way, but I suspect Arion and McKay's April Showers challenge had more to do with it. Actually, what happened during that same month is that I had been thinking of asking to help out at ![[info - community]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small} lupin_snape for quite a while, too shy and under-confident to act. But the renewed interest in the community and the mods' busy real lives made several other Snape/Lupin fans muse "aloud" in their journals about asking to mod at the community. And yes, my ego has come far enough along now to admit that I thought I was the best person for the job at the time and that I'd better get on the stick before the others went from musing to asking. I was wrapping up the RPG, and I'd gained some experience managing a group of people with varying desires and needs from the game. I'd made plenty of mistakes, which helped to an extent, although I feel I've made plenty of mistakes at lupin_snape, too. I guess I learned that I could make mistakes and only hold on to them quietly, rather than actively beating myself up over them. ~_^But I had ideas, too, and, again, those two years of lurking showed me which communities thrived and which died out after the initial excitement waned. For just about 5 years, the ship has been running strong, mainly because there are mods obviously on-duty there. People want to know that other people are paying attention. What kind of a "community" runs steadily without a sense of togetherness? My modding philosophy has been simple: It's Our community, not my community. A community is nothing without its members, and I've tried to run lupin_snape as openly and all-inclusive as possible while maintaining that final "say" only because sometimes someone has to make the decision. I can't think of any time I've actually put my foot down, other than to protect the community from spammers, and to this day, I've never banned anyone except known "problem" accounts from back in the Russian Invasion LJ days. Anyone who tells you that they're not welcome at lupin_snape is imposing her/his own exile. I remember one of the people who wanted to mod (long gone from fandom now), talking about how she wanted to take over and then she could demand Marauders-era fic because that was her favourite era, which scared me to the bone. Snarry, even back then, had more than one "basic" community, and I knew the Snape/Lupin ship wasn't big enough to survive with a lot of splinter communities, which is what would have happened if LS (Lupin_Snape from now on) had become Marauders-focused. Eventually, someone unhappy with that focus would have gone and started Snape_Lupin_Adults or something, and the fans would have been scattered. The ship might have never grown. Hum. I've meandered away from the question. It's because I love LS and its members so very much; I could go on about it all day. So, after being frightened into action, I consulted with a few friends for some final hand-holding and wrote the mods, offering to be the active mod. I was completely surprised when both women responded within the week with easy Yes'es, and my account was given mod status. Surprised, only because I thought it would be harder to convince anyone to take me on. ~_^ My first month was kind of rocky because I'd barely introduced myself when there was a major death in the family. But you know, in case anyone has the wrong impression, the original LS mod, makishef, has always been interested in the community and pairing, she just didn't have time to maintain a hands-on approach to the community. That month, she stepped right up and made sure the monthly challenge was issued and on-track while I was away. The other mod that was on board when I came on has since moved on, but she was always friendly and supportive as well. They're great gals, and I hope no one thinks anything but the best of them. We wouldn't have LS without them. I was back by June with a new monthly challenge and there's been something new every month or two since then. I think people cross-posting their challenge-inspired works to their journals and other communities helped let people know that LS was an active, interesting place to be, as well as a treasure-trove of great Snape/Lupin content if they were interested in finding more. I think we hit 750 members by the end of the year and 1000 members a little over a year after the April Showers challenge. Somewhere along the line, "Snupin" became the preferred moniker for the pairing, and I stopped trying not to use it about a year after that. ~_^ I still use Snape/Lupin, though, when I go outside the community, if only because now that fandom is waning, new people coming in don't always get the squished nickname phenomenon. So, that's it. That's how I came to be mod at LS. And while I answered why I shipped Snape and Lupin together before, in my normal fandoming I always point people here when they ask me why I ship Snupin. It's short and to the point, and I couldn't have said it better myself. love, lore
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| BloMo21: lore and Snape/Lupin, part I.... |
Saturday November 21, 2009 11:56 PM |
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geri_chan asked how I got into Snupin and ended up as a mod for lupin_snape. I think I've sort of told this story in bits and pieces in different places over the years, but to have it all in one place.... Once upon a time, I was a fandom lurker. I'd drifted into HP from XF and after a couple years of lurking, some LJ friends were pimping a new RPG on their journals...over and over again. I started to wonder if I shouldn't give an RPG a try. I wanted to write again and I'd been reading an RPG avidly, so why not try it myself? From my reading experience at my fave RPG and checking out a few others, I was sure putting in an application so late in the casting period would net me a super-minor, low-maintenance character like Hannah Abbott or Stephen Cornfoot (remember him?); a student character not close to the main action. I said I'd take anyone. I received back: Snape. Severus Snape? Are you kidding me? I don't care about the adult characters?! Arrgh! But I said I'd take anyone, so I went on a research bender for Severus Snape. O....k. You know, when you bother to look beyond the surface, there's something up with Snape. He's not just the year-long red-herring; he's Albus' right-hand, he's powerful, he sees through Harry and when Voldemort comes back, Albus sent him off to re-join the Death Eaters (this RPG started in the weeks before OotP was released). I came to respect Severus Snape while looking at the facts. I fell in love with him when I started reading the fan fic. RPGs are all about the shipping, did you know that? (*snicker*) I started to wonder with whom I could possibly ship Snape (even in a longing, unrequited way in the RPG). I ruled out the kids right away (I didn't even know what "cross-gen" was back then, but I don't like unequal relationships), and I realised there were no developed women in HP that were Severus' age either. I'd just had the slash light turned on by Aragorn/Boromir -- surely I could slash Snape! There were at least a few candidates around his age. With those limitations in mind, I hit the Snape FQF archive. I read several pairings for Snape, but the character that I kept going back to was Remus. I read some great stories in many pairings, don't get me wrong. But much of the Sirius fic was hatesex or I didn't recognize Snape or Sirius in them, and Harry fics bothered me as much as I thought they would. Albus usually involved power games, the Weasleys weren't really in play back then, Kingsley wasn't on the horizon, James was dead, Lucius was a married bad guy and I wanted my Snape to secretly be good, etc. Severus had real history with Remus. They were the same age, had held the same job, had gone to school together, had darkness tinging their souls. Snape had followed Remus' gang around school, Remus had almost killed him and Snape still made him Wolfsbane. Severus and Harry have history, but it's convoluted and uneven at best. Same with Albus. And Sirius, not so much. In fact, I've always found it hard to believe that Snape/Lupin wasn't a popular ship right off the bat. Maybe it seemed too easy to some people, I don't know. ANYWAY, the more I explored Snape/Lupin, the more in love with the idea I fell, until Snape/Lupin was all I wanted to read. The problem I had was that there wasn't a whole lot of Snupin out there. After I went through the FQF, I found lupin_snape, which, at the time, did not have much activity, and I scoured the journals and archives from there. Once I'd exhausted all the resources I could think of, I knew there was only one thing to do:Go on an Epic Campaign to encourage more Snape/Lupin. To Be Continued in the next post. I started this late for a reason.... love, lore
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| BloMo20: Halloween.... |
Friday November 20, 2009 11:59 PM |
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osmalic asked how I celebrate Halloween. As a kid, I generally looked forward to trick-or-treating. I did that through age 14, and then I was officially too old for it. If only I'd have known then that most people ignore the age limit! As an adult, I've tended to hold my own birthday/Halloween party. This is the first year we've had to cancel because of illness. Sometimes, when my birthday falls in the middle of the week, a party isn't as feasible. If the weather is good, we like to set up the candy in the front yard and make the kids walk through the leaves we refuse to rake. On occasion, we've also blared scary music. I'm not really a great decorator or costumer. I kind of enjoy clever, low-labor costumes, but I had so many "that's lame" reactions that I stopped even doing those. In my house, it's pretty much Halloween year-round in terms of decoration, and my aunt always gives me something neat that's Halloween-themed, so while I have a huge pile of Halloween stuff in basement, I hardly ever get it all out. But I could deck this place out like the Adams Family mansion if I wanted to. *grin* I love haunted houses, although I don't get out to them every year, but they're always on my mind each year. And I celebrate Friday the 13ths as kind of adjunct holidays to Halloween. When I'm particularly vexed, I take a hex for myself on Halloween. Probably my best birthday was last year, turning over a decade and having all my friends and family around. It was a nice night and most of my friends got good and silly in front of a fire, which was different for us, but verrrrry entertaining. Worst that I care to document was definitely this year. ~_^ love, lore
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| BloMo19: Screw you, Runway!.... |
Thursday November 19, 2009 11:47 PM |
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Here are a few thoughts about Project Runway tonight: Whoever made up Heidi in that pink must be shot. Also, she looked like she had eye work done. But I hope not. The wrong person won. There was a costume-heavy line. Rosy was right when she said in chat that the hats made the models look like penises. Tim Gunn spazzing out was adorable. I wasn't so pissed off that I won't tune in come January, but it's a close thing. ***** Good friend had a birthday today. We managed a small gift and short visit, and I'm glad because this friend isn't celebrated enough. That's all I have for now. Maybe I better keep this up in December, just to get to all the topics I'm not hitting on yet. love, lore P.S. See the Bones icon? It needs help, but I'm not sure what....
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| BloMo18: Tis the season of saving stories.... |
Wednesday November 18, 2009 4:24 PM |
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Anyone who knows me at all knows that I love a good, long fanfic (with lots of smex, but that's another post...). The holiday exchange season is creeping up on us, as it is the time of year when people start to evaluate their lives and think that it would be a good idea to pull all their fanfic off the internet (it's not!!). If you are like me, and you want ALL the fan fic, saving stories off the internet to your hard drive is essential to your sanity. I ran into a poster on LJ who didn't realise that if you save simple text files of journal and some web pages, you will get a text format that includes characters to show italics and bold (usually slashes: /italicized or bold text here/), essentially giving you the story in a format that can be easily transferred to most reading devices without losing the author's intended passages of emphasis. If you didn't know you could do this either, read on! In your web browser, make the following choices: File > Save Page As > Save As File Type Choose .txt and then give the file a name. Hit Save. If the person has NOT used Smart Quotes, you should get a story in all its texty glory, slashes for italics and all. Most saved journal pages are messy, with lots of gunk at the top and bottom in code, including comments. I used to clean up the files as I saved, and I recently stopped doing that. When I open the file again for reading, I'll clean it up then. Also, if I'm looking for sequels or more from the writer, there's plenty of hidden clues in the gunk at the top or bottom if I need it. When I put a file on my Sony reader, I clean up the gunk. The lines break unevenly toward the end of paragraphs on the reader screen, but I don't find that the quirk makes the file unreadable. Also, I've never fiddled with a text file to try and fix that problem because it doesn't bother me, but you might be able to fix it. Maybe saving the text file with line wrap off? I'll have to try that sometime. On Efiction web archives, you know there's a little printer icon at the top of the Table of Contents (also on the first chapter), and if you click it in the TOC, you get the entire story on one page, which you can then save as a text file. Again, no smart quotes means you'll get the /--/ for italics. Efiction is a VERY kind way to archive because people can choose to read by chapter or as a big chunk, and saving a multi-chaptered fic is one click of the printer icon (hint to those thinking of putting up their archive of their work!). I'm sure other archive programs have functions like this, but not most of the online self-archives like FFN, Skyehawk, etc. Maddening. I've been known to scour the net for an hour hoping to find a fic in one file somewhere, rather than go through the hassle of putting together a 30-chapter, multi-part epic. On the wise advice of a friend, I've recently just started saving the chapters individually into a folder, but when you get past 10 chapters in a fic, even saving by chapter gets tedious. I'm a fan of looooong fics, so I've obsessed about this quite a bit. And I like saving things off to my hard drive when I think the fic is special, because we never know when something or someone is going to up and disappear from the internet. Lately, I've been saving almost defensively, as the HP fandom winds down and drifts away. Archives and saving fics in a readable format are more important to me than ever. Finally, there are some ways to possibly get around smartquotes, but I've only ever done it through experimentation, with no real consistency. You know you have a file with smartquotes, btw, when the quote marks and apostrophes all turn into question marks. Bleh! love, lore
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| BloMo17: random lore is random.... |
Tuesday November 17, 2009 11:44 PM |
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I fail to understand why Star Trek is not in this house yet. Mrrrrrr. Bad news x 1.5 tonight. Will there be 1.5 more, or did the .5 mess the 3 Superstition up? I have botched painting my nails so badly tonight that I fear going to bed for the smudging. The darn nail lengthener better work!! I tried using glitter this time to hide the flaws the lengthener creates (lotsa bubbles) and omggggg. Glitter splosion. And who wants glitter all over the covers and sheets? *stays up* Holes are annoying. Still feeling kinda gloaty about the Colts over the Patriots. Muah! Need to look up the lyrics to Meet Me on the Equinox, evaluate for Snupin potential. Watched Dr Who. Love the actress who played the captain; her face flashed right out of Mansfield Park at me. Good episode. Running is always goofy fun on Who. Ending a downer (in my opinion only), as usual. Expecting worst in December, that way, if I like it a little, bonus! Tennant cuuuuute. Is he growing more hair? DeviantArt is insane if it thinks I am paying $15 on sale for cards from them. Also, just once, I wish an artist would make Scorpio pretty. I made and even uploaded Bones icons, but I'm not quite pleased with them yet. Must fiddle some more. Ironically, most days, I have even better random thoughts, but of course today I'm all blank. Need to answer comments. I've also stashed a few long comments from replies at other journals...might write them up. Questions have not been forgotten, but omg, I need to start earlier in the day. Huh, that was a bit complain-y. I better lighten up! *smushes flist* love, lore
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| BloMo16: BL recs.... |
Monday November 16, 2009 11:54 PM |
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A while back, Deb Aoki at About.com asked her Twitter friends what their must-read BL mangas were. She compiled their suggestions into a list. I didn't agree with many of the choices, so I replied with my own list, which I'm reproducing here as a rec list. ( BL recs ) I only suggested books that are in print, or recently were, or are easily obtainable used through Amazon or Ebay. I also noticed that I tended to favour adults over school aged boys, and that almost all of the books would be considered to have men who act like men (as opposed to the many BL books out there where one of the pair is feminized). After I post, I might go back and put in Amazon links. It's not a comprehensive list of my faves by any means, as some of my must-reads were already listed, and I focused on series or books with one plot (as opposed to anthology books). But, if you have an interest in BL and were wondering where to start, my recs are solid reads that should be easy to find. love, lore
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| BloMo15: Thoughts on Chocolate & Asphodel.... |
Sunday November 15, 2009 11:59 PM |
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I pretty much spent all day getting the second volume of the Snupin zine, Chocolate & Asphodel out. ( Some personal thoughts on it: ) love, lore
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| BloMo14: Cutting it close!.... |
Saturday November 14, 2009 11:46 PM |
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Have spent the day cleaning and working on fandom activities. Poor lupin_snape, it's going to be spammed in the wee hours, when no one reads. Booo!WENT OUT on Friday the 13th, huzzah! Ate fancy meal with SO and went to see Pirate Radio. As usual, it was nice to see an adult indie film after a summer of WHAM!POW!. It was funny and interesting in an alternately loud and quiet way. Go see! SO gave me the new Tori and Sting holiday CDs. YAY PRESENTS (and the SO seeing my blatant demanding post before he left work)! Am in chat this evening with the lovely people of Snupin. They are dolls (both Ken and Barbie) and I am going back to them now! *HUGS ALL* love, lore
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| BloMo13: 13...icon poll...on forgiveness.... |
Friday November 13, 2009 3:00 PM |
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Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! I like to treat F13s as adjunct holidays to my birthday. I want a present, I want to go out, I want to do or try something new. Illness completely torpedoed my birthday this year, so I'm hoping the SO is prepared for one hyper, grabby, gabby lore tonight! Actually, the SO better start by feeding me, because I skipped lunch. Bleh. I love this icon, btw. Why is it that your bestest icons, the one you made or found that's so nifty and perfect, that's the one you only get to use three times a year? Booo! ***** Holiday card season is on us. I have been such UTTER failcakes at it that I'm thinking of doing something online, rather than trying to get something in the mail to everyone. But I love mail myself so much and I know other people do, too. Still, I was thinking of doing an icon offer in return for signing up for cards from people. It's been a long time since I've seen people offering icons in memes and stuff. Would you be interested in receiving an icon of your basic choosing from me (image or idea of image and words)? OOH, I wonder if polls will cross-post! Let's find out! ***** A student survey about forgiveness was sent around this week, and while I took it, I still don't have a clear position on forgiveness. In some respects, I can be very forgiving, in that if something happens that I can understand, I can forgive it even if you feel bad or guilty about it. I suppose that's the easy part. But I also know I can hold a grudge when something is done that I can't understand or is blatantly a wrong. I know that once trust is broken with me, my relationship with that person is never quite the same anymore, even if that feeling is only on my end. My father has been gone for 4 years now, and while some of the intensity has died down, I still have memories that hurt and anger me. I think I would like to let those feelings go, but actually not feeling them is not that easy. I wish there was a guide to forgiveness. Real steps that you could take to let something go so that it would truly be gone. And I know there's probably books and a couple psychologists out there that have "10 Easy Steps to Forgiveness", but I don't believe in that sort of thing. How can following steps make memories go away? I have whole days where I don't think about my father at all, but the moment I'm reminded of him, the emotions still come back. It seems to me that the only way to forgive is to forget, and who can truly wipe out a memory of betrayal? You can pretend it didn't happen, try not to think about it, distract yourself, but the second something triggers the memory, well, there it is, unforgiven all over again until you can shove it down once more. Maybe forgiveness is really the act of suffering in silence. I've often read that when something is forgiven, it will never be brought up between those people again. So, I guess people decide to forgive, and then never talk about it again and the forgiven person will not have to endure going over the incident(s) over and over again. But I'm thinking that the forgiver will endure the memory. And maybe time will let the forgiver truly forget the wrong. Maybe time is the only way to honestly forgive. love, lore
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| BloMo12: Mom derails BloMo tonight.... |
Thursday November 12, 2009 11:58 PM |
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Mom called. We discussed the Thanksgiving menu and realised there's not as much taste overlap as we thought. Cranberries, blech!! Anyone know how to make a good oyster stuffing? love, lore
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| BloMo11: Oh, so funny!...re-pimping.... |
Wednesday November 11, 2009 11:56 PM |
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shadowycat, to whom I owe feedback, bad lore, asked: What makes you laugh? You know, it's strange. I can't think of many sure-fire things that make me laugh, but I know I laugh quite a bit. I think I have levels of laughter. There's amused smiles, tittering, silent laughter, mild laughter, and GUT BOMB CAN'T STOP CAN'T BREATHE LAUGHTER. Mainly, what makes me laugh out-loud are my friends. They're witty, sarcastic, dry, insightful and sometimes eeeevil in the Makes You Smile way. I know I suffer juvenile humour and most slapstick, although occasionally, some physical comedy can strike me in just the right way and I'll be on the floor. I love deadpan, smart, witty, dry humour, which is why I would adore a show like "Better Off Ted", which is about as dry, deadpan and sarcastic as it gets. I can also hang with humour based in the utterly ridiculous or absurd, unless it gets unfair or sensible or something. This is where my Python love resides. I've also been known to change my mind about whether something makes me laugh or not. When I first saw Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, all I could see were two women playing terminally stupid. It wasn't until I'd sat through it a few times on cable that the absurdity, parody, and dryness came through to me. This is hard to admit, too, because I railed against that movie hard. But I'm glad I eventually saw past my gender politics to get at the truly hilarious film underneath. And yes, the "Time After Time" interpretive dance is totally what converted me. My moods are mercurial and so are the things that can make me laugh; anything at any time is probably the most honest answer to Shadowy's question. Smiling, I do a lot, but true laughter comes much less frequently. ***** I probably have enough questions to get me through the month, but just in case, let me point you toward my prompt posts: NaBloPoMo means I'll be posting every day in the month of November. If you'd liked to help inspire me (and boy, do I need help!), I'm taking any and all questions or small, non-fandom challenges and top 5s or top 10s on IJ, DW or LJ. love, lore
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| BloMo10: Top 10!.... |
Tuesday November 10, 2009 11:56 PM |
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Another quickie as the day was long and the night way too short! Courtesy of McKay and in honor of day 10: Top 10 shows I loved as a kid 1. Sesame Street! 2. The Electric Company - Oh, how I lived for the Spiderman appearances 3. The Bionic Woman - I wanted to be her. Back when I didn't think seriously about it, I though I would name my kid Jamie. 4. Battlestar Galactica - Oh man, the 70s long hair and sparkling eyes. And the Triad outfits made of bands and a scrap of cloth! 5. Battle of the Planets - I was an Otaku before I knew what one was! 6. Dungeons and Dragons cartoon show - And a nerd.... 7. Wonder Woman - FEMALE ACTION HERO. Yes, I was a little feminist, even at 8. 8. Moonlighting - Brilliantly funny and fun until real life encroached on the storylines. 9. Remington Steele - Pierce Brosnan. And Stephanie Zimbalist. Together. 10. WKRP in Cincinnati/Night Court - TIE of the excellent, witty, hilarious sitcoms! They make them like this so rarely anymore - with heart. And now I'll take your other Top 10 suggestions for future BloMoPosts, if you have any suggestions. love, lore
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| BloMo9: Too pooped to pop.... |
Monday November 9, 2009 11:21 PM |
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I had a shot today. I think it wiped me out. Might be tired through Wednesday. Ooo, yaaaaaay. Wearing a Nubar purple polish right now, but I can't decide if I like it. Anyone else wear Nubar? Yes, I have become a nail-painting person. It is very hard not to buy ALL the colors, too. In fact, I did have small orgy of buying at the local beauty supply a few weeks ago. With coupons and discounts, China Glaze was like $4 a bottle. Oooops. And then there's OPI...I think I'm Not Really a Waitress turns the SO on. In fact, I only one a couple other reds because it seems so perfect. Blue on the other hand...I have a lot of blue. And glitter. Because I am three-years-old. love, lore
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| BloMo8: Sunday TV, the forgotten, & Dirty Little Secrets.... |
Sunday November 8, 2009 5:06 PM |
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Last day of TV talk. I bet you're all relieved. I know this makes me sound like a serious TV addict, but you have to remember that many of these shows are not on at the same time, and some of them sit on the TiVO, waiting for the SO and I to have chunks of time to watch them. With the reality shows, especially, there's either fun chatting with friends during them, or the doing of Other Stuff while they're on. For example, I have football on now, and I plan on getting some fandom stuff done this afternoon. ^_^ Amazing Race I remember watching the very first episode still, because they visited Victoria Falls and the camera shots were, um, amazing. I don't watch a lot of travel TV, so seeing a sight like that left a big impression on me. Also, the show has a low "evil" factor. Yes, some people on the race are evil, but the rules keep them from messing with the other teams beyond the rules. In fact, I see more acts of kindness, team work and camaraderie on the Race than on any other competition reality show, which is a refreshing way to end the weekend. Plus, host Phil Keoghan is adorable. Desperate Housewives Another one of those women shows...no, in fact, the only reason I keep watching this show is that it had been the only thing on Sunday at 9 in which I was remotely interested. If I hadn't started watching it in the age Before TiVO, I probably wouldn't have kept up with it. Now, well, I have been watching these characters a long time. This is a *shrug* show for me. Brothers & Sisters Another time-period *shrug* show. I didn't watch the first season, but a friend kept talking about it, so I gave it another try. I guess the second season was more compelling. I mean, come on, you can only resist Sally Field for so long. Masterpiece TiVO users, I hope by now you know that Masterpiece Theater has renamed itself to Masterpiece Classic, Masterpiece Contemporary and Masterpiece Mystery. You need to have all three programed in to keep up with Masterpiece anymore. Classic is for adaptions of older works, such as Austen and Dickens, and Contemporary is for modern-day dramas. Mystery explains itself. ~_^ Classic runs in the spring, Mystery in the summer and Contemporary in the fall. I live for the spring, although I also try to watch the summer and fall offerings. I find them hit-and-miss. I couldn't get into the Inspector Lewis series, but loved the Inspector Lynley series. Speaking of hit and miss.... Various PBS Offerings I have Great Performances, American Masters, Austin City Limits, etc. on season pass and I'll scroll through the entire PBS line-up every few weeks. I'm not always interested in every episode of something, but the random topics I am interested in can make for lovely mid-week bonus shows. Shows not on the air right now that I haven't yet mentioned Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations - Most unique, fun, interesting travel/food show on tv. Anthony is sex! Drop Dead Diva - Wonderful show. Girl!power I'm unashamed to admit watching. Better Off Ted - Witty, sharp, unique. Another of a few comedies I'm willing to watch. Hell's Kitchen - Gordon Ramsey is evil. That's ok with me. American Idol - Some seasons, I bail on it early. Ellen over Paula not sitting well with me. We'll see. Robot Chicken - Hilarious or childish. Good thing it's only 10 minutes long. Leverage - Really smart and funny, lost a little focus when a key player went on maternity leave, but expect a bounceback for round 3. 10 Things I Hate About You - Charming, if thin on plot sometimes. Lead male looks like he could be Joyce "Just One of the Guys" Hyser's son; really Gregory Peck's grandson Shows I'm a little embarrassed to admit watching Total Drama Action - Cartoon version of an evil reality show from Canada. Find myself pissed when people are "eliminated", wtf?! Sonny With A Chance - Leave me alone, I like Demi Lovato. Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice - I blame Megan L&O: SVU - Started watching because it was the only L&O with a female cop. the forgotten - Did I mention that Tuesday night is a wasteland? Shows on the TiVO of which I haven't watched a single episode yet The Good Wife Vampire Diaries love, lore
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| Natterings.... |
Sunday November 8, 2009 7:10 AM |
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| BloMo7: Snoozy Saturday TV and Beyond.... |
Saturday November 7, 2009 11:54 PM |
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Saturday is a TV wasteland. It's pathetic, how the networks have basically abandoned the night to reruns of stuff we watched during the week. Luckily, there's still off-network syndication and the TiVO.... Legend of Seeker Remember Xena and Hercules? Well, this show is from the same team, only it's 9 years later, they have more money and they're taking the story-telling much more seriously (probably because Terry Goodkind is still alive to kick their asses if they mess up his Sword of Truth book series too much). Oh, don't get me wrong, there's still a layer of fine fromage over the proceedings, but the show is definitely more exciting and dangerous than its roots. The SO and I love it, and we try to get it on Saturday (syndication means we can get it Sat. or Sun.) because the day is so empty. Saturday Night Live I've been watching since I was a kid. Why stop now? Dollhouse Usually, we watch this on Saturday. It's a Joss Whedon show, which means, 1. It won't be on much longer and 2. It's smart and slick and above the average TV viewer's head. I won't even ask you to watch it, even though it rocks, because you'd just be letting yourself in for heartbreak. But if you have a huge jones to watch a show where people's memories are stored away in order to allow new memories to be reprogrammed into them over and over again, allowing them to be anyone or have any skill, then go ahead, tune in. I dare you. ~_^ Dr Who New special next week! Maybe it's sad, but I could never get into the series until they updated it. I guess I can only stand modern cheesy production values. Being Human A vampire, a werewolf and a ghost rent an apartment together...and what follows for all of 6 episodes is much more than the punchline to a joke. There's a second season we're looking forward to from the BBC, and SciFi is going to do an American version next year. We'll see how that goes when the time comes.... Merlin Yes, we watch it. It's fun. But I have a heck of a time making myself watch it. We tend to go in spurts. It's probably because it's damn hard watching Anthony Stewart Head play a character that's anti-magic. ~_^ True Blood ...cannot get back on the air fast enough. The show is silly, illogical and even stupid at times, but the SO and I can't get enough of muttering "Sookie" at it. How I Met Your Mother This is another show I didn't get into until after the first season, but that should tell you how charming and engaging all the characters are, that I picked it up in later seasons. House/Lie to Me or, Shows With Fascinating Leading Men. I picked up House in season 4. Huge Laurie, once he caught my eye, was mesmerizing. Plus, I think I'm the only person alive that likes 13. Lie to me is MUCH better this season than last. The show is about Tim Roth's character, and that's where it should stay focused. Chuck/Lost COME BACK, SHOWS, COME BACK! I don't disagree that maybe network television would benefit from BBC-like shorter seasons and constantly new material, but it still sucks having to wait almost a year to see shows I adore again. Ok, anything I'm forgetting, I'll pick up tomorrow. People were married today and we got to watch love, lore
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| BloMo6: Friday night is Wonky TV night!.... |
Friday November 6, 2009 11:56 PM |
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It's like...if you stay home on a Friday night, you must have eclectic tastes. Right? It's certainly not Loser TV for Losers, nooooo. ~_^ (I am kidding, really!) Ghost Whisperer I didn't watch the early seasons of this show, trying to tell myself I wasn't interested, but I have a hard time resisting supernatural anything. I mean, I watched Charmed for a few seasons, for gawd's sake! Plus, I have to admit, Jennifer Love-Hewitt is awfully...Lush. It's actually not a bad little show. Usually, the ghost is put to rest at the end of the episode, and any mytharc the series flirts with fits into the regular episode. Ok, the husband's not bad either. Ugly Betty Bright, colourful, wacky, fun! I'm a little sad that more people don't watch Ugly Betty. I love the entire cast; I can't think of one character I don't adore. *clings to it* Medium This show is smart, the family and characters are real, and NBC is staffed by fools. The End. Monk The first half of this last season, the show was cruising hard. The cases were almost nonexistent, and the "bits" were tired. But now that we're into the second half, it's like a light went on and the people involved realised that they only have a few episodes left to say goodbye to one of TV's most original characters. If you watch The Mentalist or Numbers, you have Mr. Monk to thank. Psych Oh. How. I. Love. This. Show. Shawn and Gus are a great team, and I love the premise, of a man so observant that people wouldn't listen to him until he began doing his psychic schtick. It's funny, it's fun, it's smart. I actually like Corbin Bersen for once. If you have no idea what Psych is about, then ask me more, because this is a show you should be watching. White Collar Jury's still out on this one. The SO likes it, but I have a hard time cheering for criminals. Sanctuary & Stargate Um, we have bazillion episodes sitting on the TiVO. Does not bode well. The first episode of Stargate Universe was a huge downer, and people keep telling us it finds sub-levels from there. So, who's home with me? ^_^ love, lore
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| BloMo5: Thursday is Bones Day!.... |
Thursday November 5, 2009 11:43 PM |
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Thursday Night is over-packed night. Between rushing home and the two TiVO tuners, I almost get to watch everything that interests me tonight. But I'm only going to talk about a few shows.... Bones I really need a Bones icon! There was some criticism of the show last year. But this year has been consistently strong in terms of characterization and acting. I think the only character who occasionally suffers is Bones herself, and that's because it's hard to keep a character "obnoxiously innocent", which is how Bones started out, and how, some writers still try to write her. But that hardly matters when the other characters are so alive, fun, effervescent and cool-in-a-smart-way. And David Boreanaz has only become better and better in his role and FBI Agent Seeley Booth, who has become so much more than a wise-cracking tough guy in Boreanaz's hands. One TV commentator says almost every week that Bones is the most unappreciated show on television. Don't let Bones get by you. Flash Forward This show is intense, and it has a mystery that threatens to be somewhat solved by the end of the season (gasp!). It feels like Lost without all the baggage of 5 seasons. So why not check it out and get in on the ground floor of a fascinating show that promises an actual payoff come May? Fringe I'm one of dozens of people that I've read saying, "I watch Fringe, but Anna Torv bugs the hell out of me". Anna looks too much like Cate Blanchett on first glance, so I always end up doing double-takes. But...Joshua Jackson and John Noble...now those are two men I could watch read the phone book, so why not suffer the Blanch-ette to get a weekly double-dose of adorable men? One online friend calls it "The Walter Bishop Show", which is a moniker I could get behind. Oh, yeah, and there's a plot...just think X-Files with more dopplegangers and you'll be able to jump right in. Project Runway/Models of the Runway Again, this is a show that could be on anytime...and on any channel! This has not been a great season of PR, but it was still good enough to be considered must-see TV, compared to a raft of other reality shows. Lifetime added a half-hour show after PR, Models of the Runway, which is about the model competition that's also always been involved with the show. Honestly, though, I don't think we need it. The models weren't as empty as you might think models are, but I don't watch PR for the model-bonding and cattiness, I watch it for the designer-bonding and cattiness. ~_^ And now I need to go make a Bones icon so I can replace the icon on this post with it later! I've been meaning to make one for ages, but I keep putting it off. Well, no more! love, lore
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| BloMo4: Wednesday is Glee day!.... |
Wednesday November 4, 2009 11:45 PM |
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Well, tonight, there was a big load of nothing on until 10, but normally, Wednesday brings GLEE!! Glee I'm not sure there's anything I can say to make you love this show. It's like...a peppier Freaks and Geeks with singing. You either know how to roll with that, or you don't, you know? Me, I can rollllllll. It makes me a wiggly, happy puppy each week and as long as it stays on the cheesy side of soap opera, I'm there! The second the show starts to take itself seriously, the shark will have been turned on its belly for a good jumpin'. Eastwick OK, so I like an unrealistic girl!power show or two, and this one is due to be canceled at any minute. Still, I love magic, I loved the original theatrical, and it's not like there's a lot of other interesting shows on Wednesday. If Eastwick is canceled, Wednesday will become a wasteland with Glee an island in the middle. Sheesh! Top Chef I can't count on Top Chef being on a regular schedule, so I'm talking about it here, even though I don't count it when I talk about Wednesday being a wasteland. This season has been nice, but the strongest chefs have been obvious from the beginning, and now that we're down to the end, they're all still around. No big surprises here, but I adore Padma and Tom, so I'm always entertained, even with a sub-par season. Finally, just to revisit V - The first episode ended stronger than it began. Plus, I know the SO is going to make me watch it anyway, so I guess I'll be hanging with it for a while longer. That final fight scene was awfully cool. Also, is anyone else jonesing for Lost now that they've seen Elizabeth back on the small screen? Hee! I wish I could bounce back faster from this sickness. I still am coughing and dealing with congestion every day and I feel weak and run-down. I can only hope it was N1H1, because I don't want to have gone through all this just for a regular flu. love, lore
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| BloMo3: Tuesday TV Wasteland.... |
Tuesday November 3, 2009 11:40 PM |
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Actually, there's nothing I'm IN LOVE with on Tuesday. I'm starting to become really burned out on So You Think You Can Dance and I'm beginning to question the judge's ethics, but if nothing else is on, I will probably continue with it, just with the sound down low. Tabitha's Salon Takeover is back on Bravo at 10 p.m., though. This show is everything Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares ought to be. Tabitha is in charge of a needy salon for a week and she doesn't cajole the staff or wait for things to happen, she makes things happen. It's a great show to watch when the special snowflakes of the world are wearing you out. So, in other news, I can't wait for 2012 to open just so I can stop seeing the commercials. Why, John Cusak, Why?! We have V on right now, but I'm not holding my breath about it. Alan Tudyk is only listed as a guest star, after all. I caught up on Storm Chasers on Discovery from Sunday night. Tornadoes are terrifying and all the chasers are pretty much testosterone-laden asses, but when they actually spot funnel clouds, it's just fascinating. If you're remotely interested, I believe the next new episode will have footage from a vehicle that survives going through a tornado. That's pretty much been the holy grail of this show, so this would be the episode to watch. (V story break - she's a lizard, kid. Anyone who's seen the original knows that. Leezard, leezard, leezard!) Rather than continuing to babble right up to the last minute tonight, I think I'll close and go answer some comments. Peace out! love, lore
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| BloMo2: TVMonday - Castle, Heroes, Big Bang Theory.... |
Monday November 2, 2009 11:55 PM |
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I have said, out-loud in front of family no less, that I would happily fuck my TiVO if I could, I love it that much. Sad-sounding, yes, but in a year it has completely changed how I approach visual entertainment. Not having to worry about getting home in time for a show, or whether the VCR is going to get it, or planning a complex taping system for a vacation - well, it's huge. Now we talk in terms of watching in "real-time" or just "on the TiVO". And look out, babolas, since I last waxed rhapsodic about the TiVO, we've upgraded ours to a TERABYTE hard drive. Dudes, there are over 450 programs in our deleted right now, WHOO HOO (the machine only deletes when it runs out of space)! Anyway, I thought since sweeps started last week, I would talk this week about the shows I think are particularly special. Castle If you're not watching this show, you should be. It's intelligent, witty, sharp and so much more than a police procedural. Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, crime writer with an "in" at the NY police department, is nothing short of utterly charming and warm in a smart-ass way - Richard makes people want to talk to him. It's easy to see why detective Kate Beckett puts up with him week after week, even after he bases his next hit character, Nikki Heat, on her. Castle's home life is just as interesting as the cases he tags along on, but his daughter and mother's appearances are kept on the wise side of "just enough to want more". Seriously, this is not snoozy old Law & Order here, and the writing for Castle is amazing. The cases seem fresh and interesting to me, and the characters are human. Stana Katic as Kate is not getting much credit for her role, but she's growing on me. She's not a stereotypical tv female, but she sure has great, happily slow-building, chemistry with Fillion. About the only "history" you might need to know other than the basic premise (crime writer goes on real cases with the inspiration for his latest hit character) is that Kate's mother was murdered a long time ago, and Kate almost burned out trying to find her mother's killer before she put the entire unsolved case behind her for good. This plot point doesn't come up every episode, so, see, this is a totally easy show to get into! If you do decide you want to give Castle a try, or if you happen to be an old Firefly fan, watch the episode "Vampire Weekend" online. Heroes Yeah, I know, last season, it's done, it's cooked, it's jumped the shark, it's lame, over, lamented. What-EVER. Heroes is like nothing on TV right now, and it will probably be years before we see something like it again. The show has problems, but it also has hope, fun, action, and that OMG!-factor that keeps me hooked right in. Sometimes logic and characterization shifts too much and I roll my eyes, but I keep coming back to it because it's still different. I still love the characters. And I still end up going OMG!!! almost every week. Plus, Noah is dead-sexy, especially when he speaks Japanese. ~_^ Want to check back in on Heroes? Try watching Strange Attractors. The Big Bang Theory I hardly ever talk about half-hour comedies, and that's because most of them are pure drivel. Occasionally, one like Sportsnight comes along, bringing something new to the table, and BBT is one of those shows. It's not really 4 Men and a Hot Chick, which is what the ads sometimes makes it out to be, but, rather, it's a show about friendship, geekiness, and the people who can accept super-geniuses for who they are. If you've ever been into anything remotely nerdy, it eventually comes up on this show. I think all the characters are terrific, but I have to admit, I have a special place in my heart for super-smart, super-OCD Sheldon, who pings me hard as a "Snape". I do like my Snapes. ~_^ CBS is too uptight to put entire episodes online, but there are plenty of fun clips to be found here. If you want a truly nerd-tastic moment, though, I suggest Now Fetch Me Wil Wheaton. We watch other shows on Monday - it's one of our most-juggled nights of TV even with the TiVo - but these are the ones I adore. Anyone adoring them with me? love, lore
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| BloMo1: A bunch of blather on journals and free speech.... |
Sunday November 1, 2009 9:02 PM |
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I think I'll manage National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) out of Dreamwidth; that way, all my journals can play. I'd like to start with why I've been so quiet the past few years, so what follows is me thinking it through "out-loud". I suppose the LiveJournal craziness in 2007 started it. I fully understand that everything I put on the internet, locked or unlocked, might be found and judged. But the idea that I might be actively judged was more daunting. I liked that my journal felt like my mouthpiece, that I could say whatever I liked and people could either ignore it, argue with me or agree with me. In my mind, that's how opinions are supposed to work. But now we have today's version of LiveJournal, where it seems like every post and comment is a click away from being reported by someone who doesn't agree with your opinion, where you would have to suffer the investigation of an accusation, and where, right or wrong, you could end up paying in time and tension just because you said something someone else didn't like. If anything, the fracas resulted in making it clear that even without all the bells and whistles (looking at you, other journaling services), there's plenty of ways for someone to try to shut someone else up on the internet. You'd have to own your own server- no, ISP- no... OK, the SO says you'd have to be AT&T to guarantee that no one could shut you up on the internet. I just began to think that if something I might express, however innocently, pisses off the wrong person, and I could get harassed or yanked or deleted or whatever, why say anything? And thus, the great tongue-tie began. But, wait, I hardly ever post anything locked. If I'm so worried about people not liking what I say, why not just post locked, right? The thing is, I'm not saying anything all that controversial in the first place. I'm not inciting a riot or saying we should Kill Bill or giving out the recipe for a kick-ass neuro-toxin. But I do believe deeply in our right to free speech, even if it isn't so free on the internet. The thing is, when people clam up, when they don't express their opinions, when they can't expect reasonable discourse when discussing opinions -- what happens to the idea of free speech? It dies. And we've all watched the news, read a blog, seen the video. There's a lot of scary, UNreasonable talk out there these days. There's people clearly ignoring facts in favor of fiction, people who think if they can shout someone down loud and long enough that their version of reality will become reality. And I'm terrified of the day when the lies win out more than the truth. I think we've come too far from the time of the Constitution for some people to respect it anymore. As I look and read around these days, it seems like there's more people who want to throw out the Constitution than there are people who want to abide by its principles. The Constitution asks us to make some tough choices, such as defending someone's right to say something with which you absolutely disagree, but I'm beginning to think that there's a significant portion of Americans that aren't tough in that way anymore. Anyway, my point about posting unlocked is that if people don't keep speaking their minds freely, they might just lose the freedom to do so. Like I said, I'm not terribly controversial most of the time. But just by posting unlocked, and being willing to face the consequences of doing so, I feel like I'm at least leading by example. If I were to lock down all of a sudden, well, you'll know the consequences have caught up with me. ~_^ Um, so you can always reply to this message, but let's not try to convince me about the innocence of LJ's and other journal services' policies and tools and the like. That whole 2007 mess, and much of what LJ has done since, continues to leave a bad taste in my mouth, and that's not going to go away just because you say so. I don't think I've said anything about LJ's practices that's inaccurate, but if I have, please do give the facts. I'll even edit the post to change erroneous suppositions. I'm not willing to lose logic, ever, no matter how wrong something feels to me. But try to convince me LJ is all right just because you like it? Noooo. Thank you. So, that's a lot of rambling, big thoughts for why I've been quiet. There's been other factors, true, and, ironically, I don't feel as though I've been away from the journals because I use them every day and I have been reading all your posts. I'm just not speaking up the way I used to. I don't like it, but I can't seem to unclamp on a regular basis, either. NaBloPoMo means I'll be posting every day in the month of November. If you'd like me to address any topics, you can let me know on IJ, DW or LJ. love, lore
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| The November blitz.... |
Friday October 30, 2009 1:38 AM |
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I very much doubt anyone's salivating at the thought of me posting again, but I've done NaBloPoMo for the past...three?...years, and I hate to just let it go. So, if you have any questions or topics that you'd like me to address in the month of November, please reply here with your requests. Anon comms are turned on, so don't be shy. Or, you know, be shy. I wouldn't blame you. ~_^ love, lore
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| Natterings.... |
Thursday October 29, 2009 7:10 AM |
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| Natterings.... |
Sunday October 18, 2009 7:10 AM |
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listless
silly
anxious
satisfied
indescribable
hot
nostalgic
tired
frustrated
sick