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Numbered Kitchen Sink Post
Lovely day, which I almost ruined by posting a snarky post.
Quickly [or rather not so quickly...]
1.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
embers_log just sent me a lovely Terry Prachett book entitled Monsterous Regiment - she clearly hit upon my kinks. Tough woman joins the military to find her missing brother, disquising herself as a man, and discovers that the military is clearly desperate in their recruitment effort for an unpopular WAR, because in her regiment are a Troll, Igor, Vampire, Religious Fanatic, and two uncommonly close "friends". Thank you, embers. Can't wait to read it!
2.
If I were to finish one fanfic? It would probably bebeanbeans unfinished WIP "Blue Skies". That one I've actually written portions of in my head. Why? The idea of a shanshued Spike stuck in the suburban hell that Lindsey/Gunn were stuck in sans the guy plucking out people's hearts, fascinated me. He's a lonely, confused, recently divorced single Dad and writer, who every time he tries to remember his past, he finds himself distracted or loses track and then can't remember it again. Some interesting themes there.
Another one that sort of haunted me was a modernized retelling of Wuthering Heights, called I think the Summer Wind or Summer Son? With Buffy as Heathcliff and Spike as Catherine, and Dru as Lynely (I think that's his name, been a long time since I read Wuthering Heights...the guy Catherine married?) And Riley as the one Heathcliff marries. No, it was more complicated than that. And it took place in the 1970s, with flashes back to the 1950s. Very weird story, with a disturbing mystery that is never quite resolved, and sort of horrifying in places particularly in how it was written. Never read a fanfic quite like it. The writing was almost poetic and had a sort of dream-like quality. Amazingly well written with description that you could gnaw on. While it was erotic in places, it was not romantic, if anything it was anti-romantic and not kind to any of the characters. If she changed the names of the characters, it would still have worked - on it's own, but not been quite as creepy. Everyone is human in it, but in a way, that is almost as if the writer merely stripped off the metaphors. (Sometimes Buffy fanfic particularly the romantic fanfic - felt like reading a really scarey yet oddly erotic and gripping horror story. I'll never forget the Radioactive FrankenSpike story I read on teaattheford two years back. Sort of a whole new twist on the old I married a Monster theme and had the monster's baby - to say it squicked me is an understatement, but in a weird I can't stop reading sort of way.)
3. If you want to read a satire of romantic fiction, specifically modern romance and chicklit - try Lolita Files: Sex, Lies, Fame, Murder about a beautiful male genius sociopath who will do anything to get what he wants. Will review it when I finish it, which will hopefully be any day now. It took me a while to get into it. It's one of those books that you've got to be in the mood for. A wicked satire. And satire is as you know, not the easiest thing in the world to pull off.
4. After reviewing the sample edit that the professional editor sent me, have decided this may actually work. My father is right - there is a huge difference between a professional editor and an amateur. Amateur's use the computer spell-check and grammer functions, professionals use The Chicago Manual of Style. Amateur's provide vague suggestions and tell you to change your plot, story, characters completely, but do not provide constructive suggestions. Professionals - will provide word suggestions such as grounded, rumbled, in exchange for whizzed. Or will tell you that you repeat certain words too often. Etc. They will also ask you questions - such as did you intend to drop words for this character or was this by accident? They don't attempt to turn your book into something they'd love or change your voice. Also, they don't have any problem telling you what doesn't work - they aren't scared of hurting your feelings.
I say all this, knowing full well that I'm no editor. I suck at it. I'm good at critiquing and analyzing art, but not editing and making it better - I can't resist the urge to change it. Editing is very different than critiquing and analysis. Constructive editing is hard to do. You need training. Having had a lot of amateur editors, friends, family, netpals, and seeing what a real one can do - I've realized that the real one may be exactly what the book doctor ordered.
5. Computer is acting funky. Not sure why. If this continues. I may take it into work and ask the guy there to look at it. It shut-down when I started it today, saying there was an internal error that could hurt it and I could either operate in safe mode or restore to an earlier date - so I restored to an earlier date. I'm hoping it's not the new Epson Printer software... And it hasn't been recognizing my adapator. Very odd. I just spent money on a new battery, memory chips via dell, and a printer. I do not want to have to buy a new computer at this date. Dang it. Especially when I'm about to start working on my novel again and need it for that.
6. I'm watching the Olympics, because I like the diving, swimming, and gymnastics events - which aren't on except with the Olympics. I also watched the opening ceremonies, which blew me away by the sheer scale and the constrasts - clear evidence that the information age is similar to the industrial age in that our technological prowess is expanding and evolving, but our ability to take care of our world and each other is if anything devolving and we really need to work on that a bit more. Also that materialism is not limited to Capitalism. And... I think boycotting the Olympics is stupid. Sorry, guys, but it is. Some things it makes sense to boycott, but not this.
Partly because I lived through two boycotts of the Olympics, which solved nothing but causing more discord and dissent. (The US boycotted them when they were in Moscow, because USSR invaded Afghanistan and then the USSR boycotted them when they were in Los Angeles because the US boycotted them when Moscow got them. It was rather silly in retrospect and hurt no one but the athelets, who weren't allowed to go.) And in 1936, when the Olympics was held in Nazi Germany (when we probably should have considered boycotting them), they provided the world with a chance to see how disturbing Germany was, and have Jesse Owens, a black man, win a gold and astonish the racist nitwits. Here, the Olympics have allowed Russians and Georgians to show they are people and like each other, their countries just don't. Provided a fascinating picture of China, how it is a country of contrasts, and not easily pigeonholed. Just like all countries are. Making horrid mistakes, yet capable of amazing things, just like all countries and human beings are. The Olympics at the end of the day is about the athelets. It's a postive interaction of cultures. Boycotting it achieves nothing in my opinion, except putting up a wall when one is not necessary. There are other, better ways, to achieve your goals than boycotting a peaceful competitive event that others have given up so much to make it too. Why punish an athelet for something their country has done? It's not their fault.
I only mention this, because five people have apologized for watching the Olympics on my correspondence list. Why people? Why? Trust me, "you" not watching the Olympics would not change a thing. No one cares. It would only work if a billion people agreed, and that's not likely. Also, why hurt the athelets? They haven't hurt anyone.
Quickly [or rather not so quickly...]
1.
embers_log just sent me a lovely Terry Prachett book entitled Monsterous Regiment - she clearly hit upon my kinks. Tough woman joins the military to find her missing brother, disquising herself as a man, and discovers that the military is clearly desperate in their recruitment effort for an unpopular WAR, because in her regiment are a Troll, Igor, Vampire, Religious Fanatic, and two uncommonly close "friends". Thank you, embers. Can't wait to read it! 2.
If I were to finish one fanfic? It would probably be
beanbeans unfinished WIP "Blue Skies". That one I've actually written portions of in my head. Why? The idea of a shanshued Spike stuck in the suburban hell that Lindsey/Gunn were stuck in sans the guy plucking out people's hearts, fascinated me. He's a lonely, confused, recently divorced single Dad and writer, who every time he tries to remember his past, he finds himself distracted or loses track and then can't remember it again. Some interesting themes there.Another one that sort of haunted me was a modernized retelling of Wuthering Heights, called I think the Summer Wind or Summer Son? With Buffy as Heathcliff and Spike as Catherine, and Dru as Lynely (I think that's his name, been a long time since I read Wuthering Heights...the guy Catherine married?) And Riley as the one Heathcliff marries. No, it was more complicated than that. And it took place in the 1970s, with flashes back to the 1950s. Very weird story, with a disturbing mystery that is never quite resolved, and sort of horrifying in places particularly in how it was written. Never read a fanfic quite like it. The writing was almost poetic and had a sort of dream-like quality. Amazingly well written with description that you could gnaw on. While it was erotic in places, it was not romantic, if anything it was anti-romantic and not kind to any of the characters. If she changed the names of the characters, it would still have worked - on it's own, but not been quite as creepy. Everyone is human in it, but in a way, that is almost as if the writer merely stripped off the metaphors. (Sometimes Buffy fanfic particularly the romantic fanfic - felt like reading a really scarey yet oddly erotic and gripping horror story. I'll never forget the Radioactive FrankenSpike story I read on teaattheford two years back. Sort of a whole new twist on the old I married a Monster theme and had the monster's baby - to say it squicked me is an understatement, but in a weird I can't stop reading sort of way.)
3. If you want to read a satire of romantic fiction, specifically modern romance and chicklit - try Lolita Files: Sex, Lies, Fame, Murder about a beautiful male genius sociopath who will do anything to get what he wants. Will review it when I finish it, which will hopefully be any day now. It took me a while to get into it. It's one of those books that you've got to be in the mood for. A wicked satire. And satire is as you know, not the easiest thing in the world to pull off.
4. After reviewing the sample edit that the professional editor sent me, have decided this may actually work. My father is right - there is a huge difference between a professional editor and an amateur. Amateur's use the computer spell-check and grammer functions, professionals use The Chicago Manual of Style. Amateur's provide vague suggestions and tell you to change your plot, story, characters completely, but do not provide constructive suggestions. Professionals - will provide word suggestions such as grounded, rumbled, in exchange for whizzed. Or will tell you that you repeat certain words too often. Etc. They will also ask you questions - such as did you intend to drop words for this character or was this by accident? They don't attempt to turn your book into something they'd love or change your voice. Also, they don't have any problem telling you what doesn't work - they aren't scared of hurting your feelings.
I say all this, knowing full well that I'm no editor. I suck at it. I'm good at critiquing and analyzing art, but not editing and making it better - I can't resist the urge to change it. Editing is very different than critiquing and analysis. Constructive editing is hard to do. You need training. Having had a lot of amateur editors, friends, family, netpals, and seeing what a real one can do - I've realized that the real one may be exactly what the book doctor ordered.
5. Computer is acting funky. Not sure why. If this continues. I may take it into work and ask the guy there to look at it. It shut-down when I started it today, saying there was an internal error that could hurt it and I could either operate in safe mode or restore to an earlier date - so I restored to an earlier date. I'm hoping it's not the new Epson Printer software... And it hasn't been recognizing my adapator. Very odd. I just spent money on a new battery, memory chips via dell, and a printer. I do not want to have to buy a new computer at this date. Dang it. Especially when I'm about to start working on my novel again and need it for that.
6. I'm watching the Olympics, because I like the diving, swimming, and gymnastics events - which aren't on except with the Olympics. I also watched the opening ceremonies, which blew me away by the sheer scale and the constrasts - clear evidence that the information age is similar to the industrial age in that our technological prowess is expanding and evolving, but our ability to take care of our world and each other is if anything devolving and we really need to work on that a bit more. Also that materialism is not limited to Capitalism. And... I think boycotting the Olympics is stupid. Sorry, guys, but it is. Some things it makes sense to boycott, but not this.
Partly because I lived through two boycotts of the Olympics, which solved nothing but causing more discord and dissent. (The US boycotted them when they were in Moscow, because USSR invaded Afghanistan and then the USSR boycotted them when they were in Los Angeles because the US boycotted them when Moscow got them. It was rather silly in retrospect and hurt no one but the athelets, who weren't allowed to go.) And in 1936, when the Olympics was held in Nazi Germany (when we probably should have considered boycotting them), they provided the world with a chance to see how disturbing Germany was, and have Jesse Owens, a black man, win a gold and astonish the racist nitwits. Here, the Olympics have allowed Russians and Georgians to show they are people and like each other, their countries just don't. Provided a fascinating picture of China, how it is a country of contrasts, and not easily pigeonholed. Just like all countries are. Making horrid mistakes, yet capable of amazing things, just like all countries and human beings are. The Olympics at the end of the day is about the athelets. It's a postive interaction of cultures. Boycotting it achieves nothing in my opinion, except putting up a wall when one is not necessary. There are other, better ways, to achieve your goals than boycotting a peaceful competitive event that others have given up so much to make it too. Why punish an athelet for something their country has done? It's not their fault.
I only mention this, because five people have apologized for watching the Olympics on my correspondence list. Why people? Why? Trust me, "you" not watching the Olympics would not change a thing. No one cares. It would only work if a billion people agreed, and that's not likely. Also, why hurt the athelets? They haven't hurt anyone.
no subject
And the editor sounds great! I'm so glad.
Re: your computer, you might just need to download a driver to help your computer interface w/the new printer... the guy at work can probably find what you need online and download it for you.
no subject
I wish it was that simple. Talked to the resident computer expert at work (he fixes Dell Laptops on the side) and he told me that a "blue screen" with a stop error message was not good. Means that your hard drive is failing. So tonight I'm backing up everything on CD. Getting the service tag number to see if there's any time left on my warranty and determining if we need to install a new hard drive.
Sigh...Trying not to worry about it and sort of wishing I'd bought a flashdrive instead of memory chips. Stupid me.
no subject
I feel that having the Olympics is Beijing was solely a political act. I despise the censorship being imposed upon the Chinese people (as well as everyone who was lied to about access there) and I think what the Chinese government is doing in Tibet is a crime. I consider those compelling reasons not to watch.
This wasn't a quick decision; we both believe in what the Olympics stand for, but we feel that these summer games have been compromised.
no subject
It's one thing if you aren't doing it because you don't enjoy it. I get that.
Also, by watching the Olympics, you do not in any way support China. Actually, while watching them, I've become more informed on the situation. The size of the population. The culture. The political situation.
Would you have boycotted the Olympics if they were shown in Nazi Germany and missed Jesse Owens historic race and how he proved the Nazi's were wrong? How the spectacle was just as disturbing as China's???
It's not like you're not watching is costing China anything. It's not like anyone knows.
Have you considered a far more pro-active and aggressive way of protesting what China has done? Sending money to Dafur? Writing letters to people in the government, Senators, etc?
As much as I depise President Bush, I do applaud the fact that he used his time over there to attempt to get across to China that religious discrimination is wrong. It's proactive.
If you were an athelet or a tv station, yeah, boycotting might have an effect - but I hate to say this - but did our boycott of the Russian Olympics in the 1970s do anything? Except hurt a lot of athelets who spent their lives fighting to get there. Or Russia's boycott of the US Olympics?
I'm trying to understand - how do you think boycotting the Olympics by not watching them is going to change anything?
Watching them - has made me aware of certain things, I wasn't before. How different this culture is. How many people are there. The huge contrast between the rich and poor. It's funny, each host country thinks all we see when we watch the Olympics is the good, we don't. China offended most of the world by telling a little girl she wasn't pretty enough to sing. I find it interesting, because it is a crime the US media commits daily. I think we can learn more from watching them than from boycotting. I don't understand what can possibly be gained from doing so?
no subject
I'm not doing this for anyone else. I honestly feel that if I watch, I *am* tacitly supporting the CBC in broadcasting this event, when I don't think they should be.
Our household will not be counted. And that's fine with me.
no subject
This Olympics has been informative to me. I did not know how truly frightening a country China truly is. (Yeah, yeah, I knew about Tibet and Dafur..but this is different.) The female gymnastics - these little girls are removed from their families at the age of 3 and not permitted to see them except once a year. One little girl begged to go home, but her family said no, because they depended on her doing well for their income. The abject poverty of China is overwhelming. It's a country that has become obsessed with image.
Frightening country.
Interspersed within these tales we have stories about the pandas - a place where they are breeding them to keep them from getting extinct, yet it is oddly disturbing how it's being done. With video dating.
Then there's the swimming...Phelps is amazing, that is if you know anything about swimming. I swam competitively until I was 17 years of age. All the strokes. Phelps is to swimming what Tiger Woods is to Golf, watching Phelps win the swimming events is akin to watching your baseball team win the World Series, or Tiger Woods win a world championship.
Watching the Olympics has always been an odd experience. I dislike the nationalism, the politics, the aggressive competition of "I'm the best", but at the same time I find the grace of an atheletic accomplishment such as a breast stroke race, or a double flip dive, or a flip between the uneven bars to be beautiful - poetry in motion.
I guess if your household is being counted in the statistics, I can see why you might feel boycotting it would be effective. But, at the same time, there is much to be learned from watching. I'm not telling you not to boycott.
I guess I'm explaining why I never will.
no subject
I agree with you about the beauty and grace of the athletes. I think the Olympics can be wonderful and my stance takes nothing away from them.