I had a good vacation. And now I am tired.

ashenseraph and I were having a conversation on IM about this and that, and she insists that I share this with all of you:

Of course, what you're really likely to attract with honey is bears or bees. Flies like shit and blood. But whatever.

And thus I have.

Feeling:: amused

Saw Iron Man today. Enjoyed it enough that the Stan Lee cameo caught me off-guard. Was pleased that my doubts about Downey Jr. playing a Superhero were misplaced, probably because I never read the Iron Man title.

Trailers, the only two that matter edition:

I do not want to wait until July for The Dark Knight.

Why didn't anyone tell me Ed Norton is playing Bruce Banner in the new Hulk movie?

Fantasy Readers:

Poll #1188550
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

A satisfying fantasy novel

I would be interested in reading a fantasy novel that was described as having a "noir"-style ending, where some of the evil-doers get away with their actions - or even are rewarded for them - so that other injustices can be addressed.

Can you think of a fantasy novel, not the beginning or middle of a series, that has a "noir"-like ending?

If your answer to the last question was "yes," can you tell me the title and the author?

Boo-Yah!

I'm amusing myself, because I can't decide how people are going to react to what I had for dinner. Therefore, I must post about it and find out.

Penne Pasta
Co-Jack Cheese
Jack Daniels Barbeque Sauce (Until I finally get around to making my own BBQ sauce? I'm buying this stuff. Yum.)
Turkey Hot Dogs.

Boil the pasta. Slice the hot dogs and toss them in about 1 minute before the pasta will finish. Drain, put cheese and bbq sauce in the bottom of the cooking pan. Dump pasta and weiners back in on the cheese and bbq sauce. Let sit a couple of minutes (to give the cheese time to melt), stir until well-mixed. Probably would go well with a green salad, but I'm out of spinach.

I don't see why you couldn't use turkey sausage if that's your preference.

The barbeque sauce gives everything a nice, smoky-sweet flavor. I think that the next time I do something like this, I'll be adding crumbles of crunchy bacon, because the hot dogs alone aren't quite enough salt to blend perfectly with the sauce. The cheese flavor is there, sort of as an afterthought, and the pasta ties it all together nicely.

No, I didn't take a photo. It's not that kind of meal.

If we have a major earthquake (the kind that knocks buildings down, knocks out the power, etc.) in Reno (which we may, given the intensity of swarming we're having right now), my points of contact are my parents (who don't have LiveJournals, although my mom's on Facebook), artslave, and ashenseraph. They're all out of the Reno/Sparks area.

I don't post much on the weekends, so I suspect no one would notice if I suddenly "vanished," but if you hear about a major earthquake up here, don't see a post from me on it, and are worried, they'd be the people to check with. If we lose power, I'll ask either of them to post to their LJs about my situation.

Y'know. If anyone cares. ;)

Also, buy ashenseraph's book (Clockwork Heart).

This is both cool and kind of scary: There have been 142 earthquakes in Reno in the past week.

I haven't felt most of them, though I'd say we had a three-pointer(ish) just a few minutes ago.

Edited to add: Yep. Just popped up on usgs. 3.3

(Take the title as you wish.)

Because some people seem to have missed this fact, at the first con there were no "opt-in" or "opt-out" buttons, and theferret admits that strange women were approached largely based on how they were dressed. It turns out that the scantily-clad Princess was a friend of a friend, so I'm not counting her in that comment, but the requests to touch boobs* breasts or other body parts were not limited to the friend group nor those who were wearing buttons.

However: I agree with this comment, and am once again reposing my own from elseJournal having finally nailed my thoughts down to roughly a sentence:

It's the suggestion that anyone, anywhere, should be able to question my right to my bodily integrity because it will make the world a happier healthier place with butterflies and Bambi and bunnies ejaculating rainbows that got my hackles up, I think.

( Which Disney heroine am I. Was kind of surprised by the results )

Spent all day yesterday reading for Wednesday's class and for the presentation I'm to do with a classmate in two weeks.

Will probably spend all day today reading for the paper I'm meant to be writing.

My life is very, very exciting.

ashenseraph's first novel, Clockwork Heart, is now available in Amazon and at Borders for sure (picked up my copy at Borders last night, in fact). Go! Read! It's sort of steampunky fantasy sci-fi mystery with romance and intrigue. In other words, really hard to categorize.

jimhines' third novel in his Goblin series, is likewise now available . Jig, the hero of the books, is a reluctant hero - something that's rarely done well, but Jim not only pulls it off, his goblins seem very real. Also, much with the funny!

jpsorrow's third novel in his Throne of Amenkor series, The Vacant Throne, is also available. It's a little harder for me to write a one-sentence summary of this series because I've only just finished The Skewed Throne (the first in the series), but Joshua's fantasy world is dark and believable.

Go! Buy these books. Or at least visit the library.

Tragically, I can't read any of them right now because I have another two chapters of The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia to finish chewing through. I look forward to this summer, though, when I will be able to chew through everything I've had to put off voraciously - and might even have time to get my own writing done!

Anyone else published something recently that I should know about and am forgetting to pimp? :)

Reviews of Clockwork Heart are coming in. And so far, they're as excellent as I expected them to be.

I love me some bad horror movies, I do, but I just discovered something on IMDb that causes even me to pause (No, it's not Zombie Strippers):

Rosencranz and Guildenstern are Undead

I didn't even click through the link to check for a synopsis. I just...I don't know.

ashenseraph's novel Clockwork Heart is available at Amazon (follow the link).

One of the greats died today. Goodbye, Arthur C. Clark. May you be remembered as you wished: as a writer.

I loved A Fall of Moondust, but have never read Rama nor Childhood's End.

You know, when the subject of musical guilty pleasures comes up, I usually say I don't have any. And I don't, not really; years of being a Duran Duran fan have kind of inured me to guilt where my musical tastes are concerned.

But I don't think it's not true that I don't have any celebrity guilty pleasures. Because...


...I kind of think K-Fed is cute. And I can't figure out how to feel about that other than a little bit guilty/embarrassed.

I've not heard any of his music, though, so no comment there.

A friend of mine is moving to the Bay Area, and she would like to know if anyone can give her information about areas with good schools or, alternately, to know what schools to stay awy from. The kids are in elementary school right now. If you know, or if you know someone who would know, please share?

Thanks!

The cover for ashenseraph's upcoming book Clockwork Heart:



jimhines, jpsorrow, mindyklasky can one of you explain the idea of a "virtual tour," because I know I got the idea from one of the three of you.

Anyone else want to know more? The cover links to the Amazon page.

Many different forms of justice, Chris. See, you got man's, God's and even the devil's. Certain forms you just can't control. Silent Hill, Lieutenant Gucci to Chris Da Silva, hysterical father.

Best lookin' bad luck I ever saw. Below, a seriously underrated Twohy closed-room Ghost Mystery; Pogue to the room in general.

Run for it? Running's not a plan! Running's what you do once a plan fails! Tremors. I love this movie. Love love love. Monsters and goo, baby, and Fred Ward (speaking in this quote) and Kevin Bacon.



My easy-going nature is gettin' sorely fuckin' tested. Slither, Bill Pardee (a.k.a. Nathan Fillion). Another monsters and goo movie, and I can't tell you which is better between Slither and Tremors

I value my neck a lot more than three thousand bucks, chief. Jaws, Quint to a roomfull of townspeople.



This isn't the real Mexico. You know that. All border towns bring out the worst in a country. Touch of Evil. It always surprises me how much I like this movie.



But beware the risk of cheating the plan, disrespecting the design... could initiate a horrifying fury that would terrorize even the Grim Reaper - and you don't even want to fuck with that Mack Daddy. Final Destination, Bloodwurth, the mortitian, to a couple of really freaked out kids. Tony Todd is pretty much the best part of these films, although the Rube Goldberg Machines of Death are entertaining in a perverse yet satisfying fashion.

It breathes, it eats, and it hates. The only way to beat it is to think like it. Backdraft, "Shadow" (DeNiro). One of the most oddly creepy scenes I've seen in an otherwise mainstream film.

Feeling:: listless

Ganked from all over the damn place:

1. Pick 15 movies you know/like/love.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.

( Quotes back here )

Feeling:: sick

a blog for getting lost cameras/pictures back with their owners

Instructions: Open up your iTunes and fill out this survey, no matter how embarrassing the responses might be.

How many songs total: 2179
How many hours or days of music: 6.2 days

Most recently played: "Break on Through", The Doors
Most played: "Learning to Fly", Pink Floyd
Most recently added: "Pride", Syntax

Sort by song title
First Song: "'39", Queen
Last Song: "Ziggy Stardust", David Bowie

Sort by time
Shortest Song: "Intro", Aerosmith (Get a Grip)
Longest Song: "Tapestry of Dreams", Buena Vista Records (EPCOT: Tapestry of Dreams)

Sort by album
First album: ...And Justice for All, Metallica
Last album: Zooropa, U2

First song that comes up on Shuffle: "Rock You Like a Hurricane", The Scorpions

Search the following and state how many songs come up:
Death - 4
Life - 27
Love - 121
Hate – 1
You - 279
Sex – 12

Feeling:: amused

Thanks to klwalton

I think I have figured out why I'm so down on the snow this winter.

I have no one with whom I can go play in it.

Now, why this is bothering me more this year than the past few, I dunno.

In fact, it's apparently bothering me so much that I forgot how to use grammar properly. Sheesh. (This post has been edited.)

was to make myself some pineapple juice, not to fillet my knuckle.

Ow. Good thing I have both hydrogen peroxide and knuckle bandaids in the house.

either working on Warp and Weft or finishing up the reading I need to do in The Spencer Encyclopedia so I can go back through and take notes on all the reading I've already done for Wednesday's first class.

Instead? I'm dinking around on the computer, playing two simultaneous games of Scrabulous, and generally being a lump.

This is one of the many reasons Mike Huckabee scares me about to death.

I'm not really interested in discussing this, so I'm going to turn off comments. If I, at a later date, change my mind, I'll start another post actually discussing the issue instead of posting a link. Finally, for those going, "Oh, it's Daily Kos," dogemperor discusses these sorts of things everywhere zie posts - including dark_christian here on LJ, which is the first place I saw this.

I maed you a new lolcat:


moar funny pictures

(Picture by my seester)

I think I have a new favorite quote about friendship:

Friends are people who see all the colors and feel all the textures in your personality and love you for the crazy quilt that is you -- Emma Walters Downey

Oh, and am I the only person who would pay good money for "An Aerosmith Christmas" because it would be funny as heck?

Can anyone tell me the approximate depth of skin and muscle that would be found on the chest of an average man before one would strike the ribs?

Because I feel like sharing:

I have unsweetened chocolate under my fingernails, despite having washed my hands four or five times and done two batches of dishes.

I've never made this cookie recipe before. But I'm sure it will be worth it. I have homemade cookie log chillin' in my fridge.

Edited to add: K. So I was pretty sure I wanted to have Alton Brown's thought-babies anyway, but damn. These are good cookies. However, because of the crushed-up peppermint stick in the dough they stick to the pan something fierce; therefore, I will be going to the store and buying parchment paper before I bake the rest of the log.

Yum.

To watch for next year:

Fantasy Matters con.

Stolen Directly from ashenseraph

You can now buy Midnight Lullabies at Amazon.Com. All money that The Harrow Press makes on this book will go to Doctors Without Borders, so not only will you own a very nice collection of horror poems, stories, and illustrations and be purchasing the first book to come from The Harrow Press, but you'll also be benefiting charity. :-)

Where are they hiding the word count update this year?

Poll #1080677 WordAssociation
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

I say "Chocolate-covered deep-fried Twinkie." Your first response:

Anything else you'd like to tell me?

When the dark is rising, six shall turn it back
three from the circle, three from the track;
wood water fire, bronze iron stone;
five shall return and one go alone...

I'm so disappointed about the retitled "The Seeker." Ah, well.