imaginary batman makes a lot of sense

It is the day before Thanksgiving and already I am beset with family obligations. I kid you not, the phone woke me up this morning when every single member of my family decided to call me at the exact same time. It was something else.

But enough of that. Instead of blather I would like to offer some vids that are making me happy today. Because they all depict things that are making me very grateful. Enjoy!

Ode to a Bitchface by monkiedude SPN



( More Fun Times This Way! )

Multimedia for grate YAYZ!!!

I have to start frantically cleaning my apartment in order to prepare for the arrival of a future sister-in-law shaped visitor (my parents don't want her and the Wrestler to stay in the same place for, well, reasons that I'm sure you can divine). However, had to share a couple things I've seen on the interwebs.

MTV did a pretty engaging interview with JJ Abrams and Chris Pine about Star Trek. In it Chris Pine was asked:

MTV: Chris, have you practiced your "Khan!!!" scream?

Pine: Yes, as I do every night before I go to bed. I practice my Shatner. I pray to Shatner.

The Tonight Show made Twilight werewolf slash:



And SNL spoofed the trailer for 2012:



Shouldn't have voted for Sarah Palin, Bobby!

I have been very productive today. I've organized books and washed sheets and I've even gotten my Star Trek mix already for posting! So I think I'll share that with you all now.

( Come Together )

*happy sigh* I love Star Trek so damn much.

The Plague is vanquished!

Well, mostly, mostly the Plague is vanquished. I totally hit a point today where I was all "Rabble, rabble, I don't want to stay in bed anymore" so I got up and watched the rest of Mad Men s.3 while working on Holiday cards.

OMG, I can't believe it's already time to send out Holiday cards again! I swear, the years just keep getting faster and faster. So, here's the deal: if you want a Holiday-themed communication from me that will be delivered by the postal service, please leave your address in the comments (which are screened). If you aren't sure whether I have your address or not please err on the side of caution and leave it again.

I do ever so love to send people things.

Also, please point me in the direction of any similar post of your own that I may have missed in the past week. I tried to stay on top of things, fandom-wise, but the Plague really did get the best of me.

I must have sounded truly pathetic over the phone the past few days because both my mother and my father called me to ask if I needed anything. Which was much more considerate than baylorsr who offered to bring me things on Monday after she'd come up to work. I could have died today and she wouldn't have done anything about it. Well, she may have shed One Perfect Emo Tear (tm Dean Winchester) but that wouldn't help me if I was already dead.

Ummm, okay, yeah, maybe I need to go lie down again because that last paragraph sounds a little delirious. ;-) But, really, you should tell me to send you Holiday cards. Because they're awesome. Yes.

I, ummm, am not reading responses to last night's episode. Let's just say, I don't think that my opinion and fandom's will mesh very well, if only because I thought that it was a pretty damn good ep.

( 5x10 Spoilers )

So there you go.

ETA a conversation baylorsr and I had last night:

baylorsr: Lost has been on for six seasons? OMG!
liptonrm: Well, they spent two or three seasons in the middle not knowing what they were doing, so, yeah, I guess.
baylorsr: No, what I mean is that we knew each other when it started! I was old then and I'm even older now! And you weren't old then but you are now! How did this happen?!
liptonrm: Life sucks.

And then we watched Lazarus Get Over Here again because we're the kind of dorks who fan our own insanity.

Am sick. Bleh. I'm not sure what I've got, con crud or hamthrax or some other insidious bug, but sick I am.

Thankfully, have beautiful Star Trek dvds to get me through the hard times. And toast. Toast is so awesome.

Stay crazy, ya'll, and I'm sure I'll be back amongst you soon.

I was not the only person to give hiyacynth wonderful fannish gifts this weekend. As is frequently the case, baylorsr and I worked in tandem. In fact, the inspiration for my Mockingbird 'THEN' vid came directly from baylorsr's dialogue-enhanced Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby - Oregon Mix. [right click & save] It's just that awesome.

baylorsr also created two podfics: a nine hour and some change Mockingbird podfic and three+ hour Filling Up the Corners (a collection of four of hiyacynth's gen stories). They are both truly excellent productions, chock full of baylorsr's fantastic bells and whistles.

I highly suggest that you run right over and check out all of the goodies.

Also, hiyacynth has graciously explained the angel spooge incident which isn't nearly as bizarre as its name may lead you to believe (what, me sensationalize reality? Never *snorfle*). It's actually a really neat experience that illustrates why fanpeople are tops and how truly awesome the actors who work on Show really are.

It was a weekend full of awesome all around. It's such a shame that we can't hang out with fanpeople in RL all of the time. But thank goodness that the internet will always be with us (except when it isn't).

OMG, you guys, I made a vid!

This is an early birthday present for hiyacynth. It's a kind of prologue to her amazing story Mockingbird and, as such, only uses clips from seasons one and two of SPN.

It was a lot of fun to make, especially because I got to drown my brain in MB again which is always a wonderful experience. For me, Mockingbird is one of those fics that transcends what we usually think of as the fanfic genre. It's just amazing, so much so that years after its writing I had to teach myself how to vid in order to express my undying love for it.

It's all for you, hiyacynth. As it should be.

Title: Mockingbird
Song: Jessica Lurie, Nels Cline, Scott Amendola & Todd Sickafoose - Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby
28.1 MB, .WMV



( Go to sleep you little baby, go to sleep you little baby. Come lay your bones on the alabaster stones and be my everloving baby. )

Am at Chicago Con. Can tell that the Jared&Jensen Show has started from the wall of sound caused by all of those screaming fangirls that just echoed down the hallway and by the way the internet is actually loading. Let's just say that the wifi in the hotel has been less than pleased with the tribe of laptop wielding fans that descended upon it.

I didn't purchase tickets to the Con so I've been spending a lot of time sitting around hallways people-watching (the pricks wouldn't even let me hang out with friends who were waiting for autographs). However, I always love a chance to hang out with my own kind in RL.

Saw Show on Thursday and, well, it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. ( Spoilers )

Have heard many amusing stories and have one of my own to tell. Ya'll should really ask hiyacynth and baylorsr about drinking angel spooge. You really, really should.

I'm off to surf all of the lj I've missed in the past couple of days. Oh, internetz, I still love you best.

Today was Veteran's Day. One of these days I will get around to putting together the epic history post chronicling my family's service in the military since WWI. But today, unfortunately, is not that day.

I have been very busy today putting the finishing touches on a number of projects that had to be completed before the weekend. They're all very exciting but must be kept secret and safe until the proper time for their unveiling.

I think I'm going to fail at mini_nano this year. I made the word count on Monday but yesterday and today are complete washes, as far as writing is concerned. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to dedicate significant time to finishing some of my big writing projects, I'm just not going to be able to pin the shiny mini_nano winner button on my shirt this year. The writing impetus, however, remains strong.

( Oh the family drama )

Thank goodness for the weekend of fangirl bliss that is ahead of me. It will be marvelous.

Brain has been in switch-off mode for most of last night and today. Sometimes that's just what the doctor ordered.

Marathoned three more episodes of The Wire season two and fell even more in love with the show. I just, yes, yes, a million times yes. I love it when storytellers really, really get something right.

Speaking of, here's a great interview/conversation with Andre Royo (Bubs) about the difficulties in truly representing the lives and experiences of the homeless.

Then I tried to watch V and had to turn it off about 3/4s of the way in. They got to this part where they started making this very clear political statement and I was just done. I don't have the patience to deal with shows that feel like they have to preach at me. However, was very amused to notice a number of good ol' Vancouver locations. Though, surprisingly enough, the Asylum was not among them.

Also, stumbled over surprise!incest in a book I was reading. Actually, it wasn't really surprising because I've read that series of books I don't know how many times since high school. But, I don't know, maybe I was reading the text more closely this time because the vast quantities of incestuous relationships suddenly jumped out at me. I felt a deep need to scrub it all out of my brain. And then I started thinking about all of the other incestuous relationships I've seen in books and came up with a fair number of them (not counting Flowers in the Attic).

So, ummmmm, yeah. It's a good reminder that fandom isn't the only place where such things are de rigueur. Sometimes it's hard to keep perspective when we spend so much time in the deep end of the fandom pool. Or, in other words, fandom has not cornered the market on fucked-uppedness.

I can't stop watching Lady Gaga's Bad Romance video. I've never even seen her or purposefully listened to her music before today but there's something so fascinating about this video. I don't even know.

All right, then. Carry about your business.

Crap, crap, crap. Nothing to see here but doom and crap.

Which means that I hit the mini-nano goal today (113 words) but it was like pulling teeth. Just not in a writerly mood.

Have been re-reading Julian May's Galactic Milieu series. They're kind of like my go-to brain candy books. They can be utterly fascinating while making absolutely no sense. And yet they're strangely soothing.

Aliens and psychics and curmudgeons and psychopaths, oh my!

And that's pretty much all I've got. Plz to go about your day.

I have completely failed to document my mini-nano word total since ever. Because I'm smrt like that. ;-)

Ahem, for the record I wrote 607 words Sunday (11/1) through Friday (11/6) and 90 words so far today. When I haven't been working on new cracky project or watching Ken Burns' National Parks (and crying).

ETA: Make that 666 words for today. *raises eyebrow at number* I am deeply amused.

Today's snippet:

Her passenger, the reason she’d been clattering down a backcountry road in the first place, came up beside her, leaned down and peered under the hood. She glanced at him, trying to gauge how the unexpected stop may have affected his mood, but a hunk of his longish hair hung down like a curtain between them. He’d been quiet for the whole ride, the only bead she’d been able to draw on him was that he was intense and focused on something else entirely. She had a feeling that her presence hardly even registered.

“Is there someone you need to call?” His voice didn’t fit her expectations, too calm and quiet. She’d been prepared for thunder and he sounded like just some other guy.

Spent the morning looking at wedding reception venues in Ann Arbor. The Philosopher and Wrestler chose a place and a date is set and forward ho. Actually, the Mum took over control of the whole thing yesterday and today it's all set. When she decides to get something done she gets it done, which can be a very good thing, especially in this case.

Did not get a lot of sleep last night. Hmmm, I wonder why that might be? *raises eyebrow in Show's direction* Woke up ( thinking about Show )

I think I need to go lie down again.

Actually, what I, and all of you, need to do is read bellatemple's awesome new story about family dinner with the angels. It is a beauty to behold. Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree.

Which reminds me! I've been writing more things! For the sake of mini-nano, here is a snippet:

Course, the whole thing might stem from the sophisticated-seeming woman sitting at a table in a private corner. It didn’t matter what Bela Talbot’s intentions were, her presence in Ellen’s bar only ever meant trouble of one kind or another. The last time she’d blown into town on a wave of her own hoity-toityness had almost lost Ellen her liquor license, and the time before that had seen the explosion of the Roadhouse’s only toilet by a herd of ticked-off imps.

Nothing that girl could do would ever bring Ellen Harvelle anything but consternation, of that she was certain.

I ... I ... I ...

I'm too overwhelmed. I can't even form a coherent thought.

Show was too awesome for words. Literally.

*points at icon*

I think I need to go lie down.

*nods*

Brain is being very bleh-y today. Which is better, I suppose, than when body is being bleh-y.

Anyway, this meme looked like it might be fun. Gakked from the flist-at-large:

Pick a paragraph (or any passage less than 500 words) from any fanfic I've written, and comment to this post with that selection. I will then give you a DVD commentary on that snippet: what I was thinking when I wrote it, why I wrote it in the first place, what's going on in the character's heads, why I chose certain words, what this moment means in the context of the rest of the fic, lots of awful puns, and anything else that you'd expect to find on a DVD commentary track.

I was the opposite of productive yesterday. I stared at the internet, watched brain candy TV, and that was about that.

Though I did make an absolutely delicious butternut squash lasagne. I'm beginning to think that butternut squash is the greatest thing in the history of produce. I still have a ton of lasagne left and I'm counting the hours until lunch when I can eat some more. [nom nom nom nom nom] And if it's anything like the delicious pasta with butternut squash and sage I made a couple weeks ago (with fettucine in place of rotini) then it will be even better the second time around.

I think I will become a squash-a-tarian. And what a tasty life it will be.

I woke up feeling kinda down this morning. Sometimes the world-at-large sucks, you know? And people can be so incredibly idiotic. Let's just say this year's election day was not as happy making as last year's. Though all hope is not lost.

Tangent: If I hear another Mormon talk about Prop 8 in CA I swear I'm going to start throwing punches. Because, you know, the people who are upset with the Mormon Church's actions during that campaign are trying to "Destroy the Church" and "Religious Freedom in this country is Under Threat". Really? REALLY??!!!!! Yeah, way to not recognize how the people whose rights you just helped take away might rightfully be upset about that and, instead, make it all about OMG they're persecuting the Mormons!

OMG, the things I endure just so I can go to my little brother's wedding. < /tangent>

But then I watched two things that helped make the world a little shinier. The first is the remarks of an Iowa legislator who blocked an amendment to reverse marriage equality in that state:



And the second is Puppies Dressed as Cats on the Tonight Show:



Okay, now I can get back to work.

Mother drama, class, and fibro aggravation co-opted yesterday. And nearly did today in, as well. But if I can sit here and work on new crazeh project then I can write a couple lines.

The back of Ellen’s neck itched and her hand jittered nervously whenever she wasn’t wiping down the counter or pouring a drink. Something was pricking at her instincts, keeping her on alert for whatever was just about to come screaming down the pipe.

It was driving her fucking nuts.

There's still a couple more hours left in today. Maybe I can write a little bit more while the laundry dries.

ETA: So, the Philosopher and the Wrestler are exchanging wedding bands. And apparently the Philosopher has decided to give my brother a ring that has an elvish love poem inscribed around the outside of the band.

If he starts talking in the Black Speech and trying to take over the world I'll let ya'll know before the Nazgul start divebombing world population centers. 'Cause that's what friends are for. ;-)

Happy Belated Halloween!!!

I don't have much to report. Candy was eaten and costumes were worn, etc., etc. And now I can start planning my costume for next year (possibly something in the key of zombie... ).

For those who are interested, I've uploaded Lazarus Get Over Here to the internet so if you simply must have a copy of your very own (and who mustn't?) you can now download it over at its brand new home at Vortex Productions. It almost looks like a real production company and everything. ;-)

And OMG mini_nano starts today! And I even made the word goal-plus! Here's hoping I can keep it up.

“Neato,” Jem cooed. She poked at the gelatinous mass. “I don’t think I’ve seen ectoplasm since-”

“That thing with the witches in Providence,” Rachel finished. She and Jem shared a nostalgic grin.

“That was fun.” Jem sighed happily. “And I don’t think I’ve ever eaten better pie.”

“They made you eat evil witch pie?” Dean’s eyes were wide with incredulous horror.

Jem and Rachel shared another amused look. “No, the good witches made me delicious pie that I ate all on my own. Except I let Rachel have a piece because I’m just that good a friend.”

And now I am off to do other important things. A fangirl's work never ends.