| An Awkward Moment |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|07:46 pm] |
Okay, so among the tutors there is me, and there are my two friends, and there are the people we are friendly with. And then there are those for whom we experience, shall we call it, antipathy. Mainly for their lack of ability to do their damn jobs, and to dump work on those around them, ie us.
Well. Tonight at dinner, me'n'my friends and another tutor were having a lovely meal together, good conversation, the rest of the table mostly deserted. We'd finished, and we were just in the mopping up stages--you know, the few minutes before you actually make the effort to stand up and leave.
And just then, who should come along but one of the tutors we (the three of us anyway) are on not-so-good terms with.
And all four of us were like, "Well, I gotta do this," and "Oh, I have a lot of work," and "Hm, well, I'm off to do such and such," etc. And we all stood up and left, abandoning the newly-arrived Unliked Tutor.
It was awkward. And probably very obvious? But on the other hand, we were finished, and we were just about to leave anyway, and we did say hi to her quite personably before we all up and left.
But, heh. Timing! Whatchagonna do.
I need a *sheepish* icon. |
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| Save the Bunnies! |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|11:23 am] |
sunsetmog has declared Bandom Appreciation Day, airgiodslv has declared WIP Amnesty (with one of the most chilling stories I've read in a while), so I'm gonna get in on the act by declaring this my own personal Save the Bunnies Day.
For today and today only, I am willing to write a drabble, a snippet, or a page from one of the many bunnies I have thrown at you guys over the years. I can't make any promises about length - I might only get out a 100 words or I might take off and write the full story.
I've tried to keep track of all my many bandom bunnies through Delicious, but there are also some unsaved ones under my "bunny" tag on IJ. If I've talked about a bunny with you over email, those are fair game too (as long as you don't mind me referencing personal email correspondence). And, well, there's always the Black Parade AU, but I think the less said about that the better.
So CHOOSE. But CHOOSE WISELY. >>>:) |
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[Nov. 5th, 2009|10:07 pm] |
Guys, can you send some prayers or good vibes or whatever the fuck my way? One of my childhood friends, who I've known since age 3, might have been at Fort Hood.
She's a nurse and I know she was heading down to Texas sometime soon to re-deploy - which means she might very well have been in the readiness center where the shooting took place.
I called her parents but they weren't answering their phone. I've emailed her sister, also a soldier. Haven't heard back yet. |
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| Wednesday, November 4, 2009 |
[Nov. 5th, 2009|12:23 pm] |
![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) emeraldsword: random fic editing query - What is the etiquette of rewriting/re-editing fic after posting? Is there any? Do you all feel deceived if you go back to an old favourite and find that the author has amended the text since the last time you read? Do you even notice? -
- accioslash: Thirty Days of Spam...Day 2 - Fic and art clearly aren't treated the same by fandom when it comes to unauthorized re-posting. Seriously, how long do you think I could actually keep up a site with a re-post of a popular fan fic with the notation "I don't know who wrote this, but if it's yours, let me know and I'll credit you." But I see that with art all the time. -
- ladydreamer: Easy Out - I've heard producers and writers often talking about how flattering it is that fans can get so angry at them about what they've done on a television show or a movie, and how it's an ultimate compliment in a way, since what they want to do is move the audience, to make them feel intense emotions. Any emotion is good, right? -
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| Fourth day of writing |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|09:37 pm] |
xposted to IJ and LJ
- Wrote 229 words on what I hope will grow up into an SGA story.
- Claude Lévi-Strauss passed away. Just hearing his name brings back so many memories from college, like sitting in an enormous lecture hall listening to my favorite prof.
- Does the San Francisco Panorama not look brilliant? Look at that list of contributors -- I can't wait!
- Here is another blog I really love: High Country New.
- Sorry to repeat myself, but higher education is my life, and I spend a lot of time worrying about it. The LA Times has an excellent article on the demise of higher education in California. Economists found that for every dollar the state invests in a CSU student, it receives $4.41 in return.
- Tomorrow night I'll be at my Mother's. I already miss my dear husband and my own comfortable bed.
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| Third day of writing |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|09:57 pm] |
xposted to IJ and LJ
Today I wrote:
210 words of what I hope will be a short Daniel Jackson story.
558 words of the story I've been working on, the one I've been dreaming of for months.
Currently, my favorite blog is The Iceland Weather Report. |
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[Nov. 3rd, 2009|10:53 pm] |
I did some art for Fall For S/X this year, a few Spike/Xander wallpapery things, which you can see here if you're interested.
And if the blood puddle looks familiar: yes, it's the same one as in the cover of my Drumix.
*goes back to sorting through Yuletide fandoms* |
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| Drumming diary: Beautiful Day II |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|04:40 pm] |
Man, the choruses are giving me problems. The snare goes ...2&......4....&2...3....4, the hi-hat pedal hits at 2 and 4, the eighth notes are on the bass drum, and the crashes change with each chorus. It's REALLY testing my four-way independent coordination: I find myself having to break it down and play two parts at once until my muscle memory kicks in, then trying to add a third part. That's going to be a long process. The good news is that once I get that down, the verses themselves are easy.
A word about muscle memory: essential. Even more so at higher levels of skill. Fast stuff like Green Day or My Chem, the drummer can't pause to breathe, let alone think about where hir limbs should be moving next. It has to be purely automatic. And sie has to have that same automatic memory for every single song in the set. It's not easy to say the least. |
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| Ficlet -- MCR gen - "Mr. And Mrs. Phallic Foodstuffs" - PG |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|01:07 pm] |
Because this awesomeness could not go unficced. (And yes, I'm 90% sure that Frank the Banana picked out Bandit's costume.) I'm not sure about the others so this is all guesswork.
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| Second day of writing |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|08:48 pm] |
Tonight I wrote 694 words. I sure hope this turns into a story.
Tonight I also bought my mother a Kindle DX. I heard from my sister and she really likes the idea. Mother is so miserable; she's trying to read using a magnifying glass, a word at a time. It's taken her two weeks to read 240 pages.
She has also decided to give up driving. My sister and I are very grateful for that. Thank god she moved into her assistive living place about six years ago -- they have all kinds of services to help people get around, and there's even a little grocery store right on the premises.
The Kindle should be there by Wednesday, and I fly in on Thursday, so I hope I can figure it out, get it configured, and have Mother reading before I leave. I think Amazon gives you a month to make up your mind so we can always return it. But I hope she likes it. I really, really hope she likes it.
Changing the subject wildly: A show I really enjoyed was canceled: Defying Gravity. It wasn't a very good show, but I loved the premise and was really curious where it was going to go. I googled around looking for news of the show and discovered an interview with the show's creator about where it would have gone. Reading that made me even sorrier it was canceled. |
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| Drumming diary: Beautiful Day |
[Nov. 1st, 2009|07:04 pm] |
The next two weeks, I'll be learning "Beautiful Day" by U2. Tempo is about 120 bpm. Drummer is Larry Mullen, Jr.
The intro is a simple, erratic bass beat, made to sound like a heart. That plays for 8 measures before the tambourine kicks in - the tambourine is actually what drives most of the song, it plays steadily through every line except a couple of the pauses late in the song. (By which time the listener probably feels unconsciously RELIEVED not to be hearing that driving beat anymore.)
There are only two verses and both of their drum lines are the same - except for the fact that the second verse is 8 measures shorter. The first two choruses are identical. After that, well, it goes off into a post-chorus, a bridge, an 8-measure interlude, a second bridge, a third chorus that's more like the post-chorus than the other choruses, and a seriously lengthy outro. It's a bottom-heavy song: simple setup and then lots of pitching.
Intro = 8 measures
Verse 1 = 24 measures
Choruses 1 & 2 = 8 measures each
Verse 2 = 16
Post-chorus = 8 measures
Bridge 1 = 4 measures
Interlude = 8 measures
Bridge 2 = 12 measures
Chorus 3 = 8 measures
Outro = 28 measures
Total = 132 measures
I dinnae have a tambourine, so I'll be playing the hi-hat pedal on beats two and four. That's gonna get interesting and really test my four-way independent limb coordination...a real challenge, one of the more difficult things for drummers to nail down. (If you want to know why it's so difficult, try tapping out a steady 1-2-3-4 rhythm with your left foot, then tapping shave-and-a-haircut with your right hand, ensuring that the "shave" falls on beat 1 and "bits" falls on beat 4.) I'll be hitting with all limbs on some beats - suppose I'd better make sure I don't fall backwards off the stool. There's also some long pauses in the song, so I'll also need to keep a steady count to come in on the right beat (I find it harder to count steady in the silence than while playing). |
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[Nov. 1st, 2009|09:04 pm] |
Is anyone watching The Next Iron Chef this time 'round? Can't decide if I'm surprised by this week's results or not.
Also, Chopped remains decidedly excellent.
And I don't want to go to work tomorrow. |
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| First day of writing |
[Nov. 1st, 2009|05:07 pm] |
xposted to IJ and LJ
Happy November 1! It's el día de los muertos, my favorite holiday. I went into town and saw people placing flowers at little shrines along the road, where their friends and family have died, and we have candles burning. I made cupcakes but I don't have any sugar skulls, which makes me sad. I love crunching on them.
November 1 is also the first day of NaNoWriMo, in which I do not participate, but I do think it's time for me to do some writing. I am watching the community Mini NaNoWriMo, and have committed myself to writing at least 100 words/day this month. I didn't join the community because I will be AFK for several days -- next week is my mother's 87th birthday, so I'm flying back to spend the weekend with her. I still don't have a gift for her, though I'm seriously considering buying her a Kindle DX.
I'm using Write or Die again; I really like that little app. I don't think I'll buy the desktop version, though, because I like the online so much. Today I've written just over 600 words, so I'm happy. I'm not sure it will actually become a story, but it's something I've thought about writing for months now. We'll see if anything comes of it.
For Halloween, I saw Paranormal Activity, which scared me to death. I seriously have been leaving lights on when I sleep. Laugh at me if you will, but I'm not turning them off.
( Other things in my life )
Did you move your clock back? I mean, if you live someplace where you have to? |
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| Ugh ugh ugh, BRETT. |
[Nov. 1st, 2009|04:51 pm] |
Okay, I'm not into NFL RPS, but I'm sitting here watching my man Brett Favre, quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, take apart his former team, the Green Bay Packers, on their homefield and heheh heh, heh. Somewhere I hear the frantic clacking of keys as a thousand fangirls whip out the hatesex.
Oo, Jennings just fell on his shoulder on the Vikings sidelines, right at Brett's feet. (Jennings was one of Brett's favorite receivers.) First Brett was all "INCOMPLETE, INCOMPLETE PASS," because he's such a competitive fuck, but then he realized that Jennings wasn't getting up and Brett totally grabbed his hand and knelt down to talk to him. And then when Jennings finally got up and walked back to his own sidelines, Brett called after him and pointed at him. Jennings kind of nodded in return and limped away.
After the game, he went around hugging all of his former teammates, especially Jennings and other favorite Donald Driver. Packers and Vikings are arch-fucking-rivals, and they're HUGGING him on the field after he beat them. That's a man who can inspire devotion, yo. That's a LEADER.
Ahem. My Favre mania is showing, apologies.
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| Saturday, October 31, 2009 |
[Oct. 31st, 2009|06:06 pm] |
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[Oct. 30th, 2009|05:39 pm] |
WOW Anne McCaffrey has some batshit crazy views on homosexuality. Consider:
It’s a proven fact that a single anal sex experience causes one to be homosexual. The hormones released by a sexual situation involving the anus being broached, are the same hormones found in large quantities in effeminate homosexual males. For example, when I was much younger I knew a young man who has for all intents and purposes, heterosexual. He was mugged, and involved in a rape situation involving a tent peg. This one event was enough to have him start on a road that eventually led to him becoming effeminate and gay.
To which I can only say o_O "BUH?" |
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| Drumming diary: Supermassive Black Hole IV |
[Oct. 30th, 2009|05:09 pm] |
Working on some refinements. You know that special little tic at the end of the song? I play it wrong EVERY. TIME. Argh.
Other issues with my drumming:
- I need to F O C U S. This is something I do all the time, not just in drumming: I live a lot in my head and my imagination. Sometimes it's hard to get out, and that occasionally hurts my relationships, or my fingers when I'm working in the kitchen, and not paying enough attention to whoever I'm with or whatever I'm doing. It definitely hurts my drumming - when I lose focus I lose the beat. Need to be more present in my body and mind.
- In drum notation, measures are often repeated and thus notated as "Playx3" or something like that. I'm getting better about sensing the natural breaks in a song, but I still lose track of if I'm playing a measure through for the second or third time.
- Need to get off sheets altogether. Memorize, memorize.
- Switching from fast to slow songs is harder than switching slow to fast. I rush the beat. Slow down, take a deep breath after the fast ones.
Also tuned my drums today: the snare was getting off. It was starting to make that high whiny noise that drums make when their pegs need a good twist or two. (That's what she said.) |
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| Newsletter Recruitment |
[Oct. 30th, 2009|06:35 am] |
My life has been INSANE this week, but before I head off to work (early, mind; I'm pulling overtime today), I wanted to point out that the three Doctor Who-related newsletters are all looking for new personnel. The Doctor Who newsletter, ![[info - livejournal.com]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif) who_daily, has its recruitment post here, and the Torchwood newsletter, torchwood_three, has its recruitment post here. Both posts have more details and information. The Sarah Jane Adventures newsletter, soniclipstick, doesn't have its recruitment post up yet, but should soon.
We are looking for both regular, weekly editors and backup editors who are reliable and committed. It also helps if you're still interested in the fandom. *grin* There is a fair amount of crossover between the newsletters; during major fandom events, like this summer's new Torchwood episodes or the upcoming Doctor Who specials, many of the editors will cross fandoms to help out. So while you may sign up to be a Torchwood editor, you may find yourself volunteering to help out with the DW newsletter during times of need.
If anyone is interested, they should go to information posts linked above and follow the instructions to sign up!
Now I need to dash to work. Hopefully I will survive. |
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| Low vision, Naomi Klein, awards, and stuff |
[Oct. 29th, 2009|06:41 pm] |
xposted to IJ and LJ
My mother is blind in one eye, due to macular degeneration, and has very low vision in the other. Fortunately, the macular degeneration has been halted in her good eye, due to new meds, but damage was done.
She is a great reader; nothing makes her happier than to settle down with a pile of books by her side. She has a favorite armchair that I call her "nest," and she settles in with coffee, a bright light, and her books. For the last few years, those books have been enormous large print ones, so heavy that she finds them difficult to hold due to her arthritis.
Now her remaining eye's vision has deteriorated to the point that even large print isn't large enough. She went to see a low vision specialist, who charged her $185 for ten minutes and sold her an $85 magnifying glass that 1) doesn't work well, and 2) is too heavy for her arthritic hand to hold.
I spoke to my own optometrist, who has followed her history (and checks me carefully for any signs of macular degeneration each year), but he tells me there's nothing for it but assistive devices. No magic treatment to restore her vision, or even improve it a bit. Right now, we don't believe she'll go completely blind, but she can't do very much, including read.
I've been investigating assistive devices, but they all seem to be magnifying glasses of one sort or another (like a flat fresnel lense you lay over the page, except the page has to be perfectly flat and what book is perfectly flat?) or would make her sit at a special table and read from a monitor. I want her in her comfortable nest.
To me, the obvious solution is books on CDs, which I love and listen to all the time. Alas, Mother doesn't care for them. I've bought her any number of them, but I don't think she's ever opened one; they just sit on her shelf.
I've been looking at the Kindle DX, the Sony e-Reader, and the new Barnes and Noble Nook. Sony's device is simply too small for Mother's vision, but both the Kindle DX and the Nook look like real possibilities. I found this comparison of the two (you'll have to click on it to enlarge the jpg). The Kindle is about an inch longer than the Nook, plus part of the Nook's landscape is taken up by some odd screen I haven't figured out yet (I've never seen a Nook in RL).
Of course, both have stupidly small navigation buttons, but we can paint them or something so Mother can identify which button is for what.
My question to my flist: does anyone own either of these devices? For someone very nearly blind, would they do? I've googled "low vision" and their names and found lots of very promising articles about them. They both cost a fair bit, but that doesn't matter to me -- it's my Mom, you know? Plus my sister is going to kick in. But I want to get something she can actually use. Bonus problem: she loathes computers with a white hot passion; they totally freak her out.
Advice or suggestions gratefully received.
( Other stuff, less urgent and interesting ) |
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surprised
groggy