Spontaneous Musings

Happy First Annual International Buffy Day!!

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 02:04:00 GMT

Decided to celebrate with a rewatch of The Prom, and a bit of a listen to Once More With Feeling.

Link to an insane amount of meta on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

(There may be some fic in there?

And a dialogue drabble :

( Pesky television characters - they never do what you want them to... )

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This that and the other thing...

Sun, 29 Jun 2025 23:05:06 GMT

1. Macs are not the best when it comes to saving files or organizing electronic files, or finding them later. PC's are better for that as is Windows Operating system. But Macs have less viruses and last longer.

I have both - Mac laptop at home, PC desktop at work. I flirt with getting another PC desktop for home, but I like the Mac virus protection better for home use and firewall. However, I need to get a new Mac and I don't want to. They are expensive.

2. Been fighting a sick headache all day long, no idea what is causing it. High blood pressure? (I took it - it's high, so took the diuretic which makes me woozy to bring it down). The weather? Blood sugar? Menopause? God knows. [ETA: It's better now - combination of headache (a generic excedrin), benedryl, and blood pressure diuretic, plus water, and a brownie. Seems to have done the trick.]

Also got off the computer and watched Poker Face on Peacock instead. Poker Face is basically Rian Johnson's take on Columbo, with Natasha Lyon playing the detective. ( Read more... )

I recommend for anyone who likes episodic detective stories, with a parlor room mystery style. Also Natasha Lyon. It's currently on Peacock in the US.

3. I think I figured out why I hate conflict and arguing with folks online or off - it's because it brings out the worst in me? I don't like hurting people. Or tit for tat. I don't like getting condescending. Or cursing. Or fighting. It makes me physically ill. It raises my blood pressure. It tightens my chest cavity. And it causes anxiety.

Some people get off on it, I think? But I never have. It's why I realized I couldn't be a litigator - I didn't like fighting with people. And negotiations often fell in that category as well. I don't like arguments.
I never have.

Every time it happens - my hands shake so badly, I can't type. I lose sleep. And I feel ill. I'm a writer not a debater. It's probably why I didn't become a practicing attorney. I know how to debate - but I hate doing it.

4. Meant to work on my novel this weekend - sent the info to myself and everything, but alas, I just couldn't. No bandwidth capacity - me, not the computer. Frustrating, that. At this rate - it will never be completed, or so it seems. I have all these ideas, but no physical bandwidth to get them out and in writing.

In other writing related news? I got a positive comment on a Buffy fanfic (No Regrets") that I wrote ages ago, and posted on Ao3, I didn't respond back. I learned my lesson with Ao3, don't respond to comments (positive or negative) or add any new posts - or they will find me and attack me with emails about freezing my account and taking down my stuff and how I'm not following some arcane and incredibly difficult to understand rule or other. Much better to stay quiet. But it was a nice comment.

"That was a very profound read, really interesting in depth look at what becoming human might mean for Spike into Will.
Also seeing Buffy's own thoughts on the changes in her life
I like the way that you ended it, no neat bow, but with perhaps a friendship to continue and a bit of a nostalgic laugh also."

I still get kudos from that page from time to time, which makes me think maybe I'm touching people with my writing in a good way? That I'm reaching folks that I've never met and somehow making their lives a little better, or giving them something to connect to, or making them think a little bit differently about something? I think that's all any of us want to do sometimes, is just find a way to connect with one another, and obtain a positive emotional response? To share the love? And to some degree the pain - at least to the point in which it makes us feel less alone, and connected to something bigger? To know there's someone else somewhere out there wherever they may be that feels the same way we do about this?

Life can feel very lonely at times. ( Read more... )

I think art and culture often connects us - in a good way. Television shows, music, concerts, live theater, movies, books, readings, dance, and sporting events. A way to come together and discuss things that bring us joy. But all of that can also divide. Humans are complicated organisms after all.

5. I watched some television shows.

Finished The Bear S4. The Bear does for restaurants what The Pitt does for the ER, except it has more family interaction and really delves into the individual characters deeply. Also has quite the cast - three to four members of it - have taken off since the series aired. And multiple members have gotten Emmys. Season 4, unlike the previous seasons, is really comforting and provides a sense of closure for multiple character arcs - each of the characters manages to resolve the main issue plaguing them since the beginning of the series. I may re-watch it from the beginning in July. It's not long. Just 10 episodes per season. First season had 8. And each episode is about 30 minutes. They aren't long episodes. But jam packed with information and character development.

Shows how much you can do in a short period of time.

( Read more... )

Andor - is unfortunately not as good. And I love science fiction and Star Wars (it was my first real fandom, well next to the Monkeys at any rate, and Batman and Robin, which I'm not completely sure counts). It is a different genre. But it is, alas, far too political for its own good - and a lot of time is wasted on plot mechanics, with the characters getting a bit lost in the shuffle. ( Read more... )

It's on Disney + in the US, and I don't recommend if you have brain fog, are depressed by the current political situation (and seriously who isn't?) and not really a devoted Star Wars fan?

I'll stick with it, but I may wait a bit.

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Me vs. Ao3 Take 3

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 22:38:18 GMT

Ao3's response to my emails:
( Ao3's response to my last email )
My response:

( My response )

ETA - I went to read their terms of service, and they don't list the content of mine that they want to remove anywhere in there...
( Read more... )
Sigh. These idiots give fandom and the legal profession a bad name. Also they are skating a thin line in regards to the legality of their site and interpretation of what a transformative work actually is. They'd be better off limiting some of the fanfic and allowing more fan reviews and commentary. Less likely to get kicked by copyright holders. That's what other sites like DW, Tumblr, and various fanboards did. If fanfic is not permanent, the copyright holder is less likely to get pissed about it.

Discussed this with Wales today, who was highly amused. First I had to explain my history with the site.
( Read more... )

( Fanfiction considered an infringement of copyright by people )

Hence the reason they have copyright attorneys. Albeit not necessarily good ones. A transformative work - fits critical review, analysis, scholarly analysis, episode reactions, or a fanfiction that falls under meta or commentary on the work (such as parody, satire, or non-commercial sharing of ideas). But apparently they don't have contract attorneys. Note like all professional fields, attorney's are not knowledgeable in everything - they tend to specialize. And contract law and copyright law varies from state to state, province to province and country to country - but one thing remains true - fanfiction isn't legal under intellectual property law, it is allowable under a loop hole known as the "fair use" clause. Also, if you are not precise and clear in your contractual terms of service - your terms could be voided by a court of law for vagueness. Particularly since you have multiple languages and translations.

Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that may qualify as fair use. Section 107 calls for consideration of the following four factors in evaluating a question of fair use:

Purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes: Courts look at how the party claiming fair use is using the copyrighted work, and are more likely to find that nonprofit educational and noncommercial uses are fair. This does not mean, however, that all nonprofit education and noncommercial uses are fair and all commercial uses are not fair; instead, courts will balance the purpose and character of the use against the other factors below. Additionally, “transformative” uses are more likely to be considered fair. Transformative uses are those that add something new, with a further purpose or different character, and do not substitute for the original use of the work.
Nature of the copyrighted work: This factor analyzes the degree to which the work that was used relates to copyright’s purpose of encouraging creative expression. Thus, using a more creative or imaginative work (such as a novel, movie, or song) is less likely to support a claim of a fair use than using a factual work (such as a technical article or news item). In addition, use of an unpublished work is less likely to be considered fair.
Amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole: Under this factor, courts look at both the quantity and quality of the copyrighted material that was used. If the use includes a large portion of the copyrighted work, fair use is less likely to be found; if the use employs only a small amount of copyrighted material, fair use is more likely. That said, some courts have found use of an entire work to be fair under certain circumstances. And in other contexts, using even a small amount of a copyrighted work was determined not to be fair because the selection was an important part—or the “heart”—of the work.
Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work: Here, courts review whether, and to what extent, the unlicensed use harms the existing or future market for the copyright owner’s original work. In assessing this factor, courts consider whether the use is hurting the current market for the original work (for example, by displacing sales of the original) and/or whether the use could cause substantial harm if it were to become widespread.

In addition to the above, other factors may also be considered by a court in weighing a fair use question, depending upon the circumstances. Courts evaluate fair use claims on a case-by-case basis, and the outcome of any given case depends on a fact-specific inquiry. This means that there is no formula to ensure that a predetermined percentage or amount of a work—or specific number of words, lines, pages, copies—may be used without permission.

Go HERE for more information. Source US Copyright Office.

I wouldn't have any issues with Ao3 - if they were clear, and honest, and not self-righteous hypocrites. The "transformative non-ephemeral/permanent" bits are highly problematic per the above. Because ephemeral fanfic is more likely to be allowable than non-ephemeral for well obvious reasons.

I'd understand if they were targeting works that could be considered copyright infringement but these are film reviews.

Anyhow, I'm done with that site.

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Other things worth commenting on or not...

Sat, 23 Feb 2019 05:05:38 GMT

1. Insane How Controversial Romance Novels Are -- a tumblr post ganked from conly.

My response? Eh, really? Have you not read romance novels?
( Read more... )

2. This brings me to... the news that Charles Dickens tried to lock his sane wife in an asylum. Apparently it was unlocked in a trove of letters?
( Read more... )

3. Regarding the OSCARS? ( Read more... )

4. Haunting of Hill House S2 is going the anthology route and will actually be the Haunting of Bly House -- -- good news. ( Read more... )

5. How People Read Fanfic

There's a nifty chart. Which you can find at the link above. Or on YourLibrarian's post about it.

How do I read and interact with fanfic?
( Read more... )

Ugh. Time got away from me again. It's past midnight. I got to go to bed.

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Death of the Author and Doctor Who (and no they aren't meant to be related)

Fri, 04 Jan 2019 03:25:23 GMT

1. Interesting... Death of the Author - application of the literary theory.

Authors know more about their worlds than you do, but maybe don’t have all the answers. If you believe that only the text matters, then an author’s thoughts, beliefs, etc about the world they constructed on the page are no more relevant than your thoughts or anyone else’s; if it’s not on the page, it’s not canon. And that’s fine for you to believe, but as the author, I certainly don’t believe it, because among other things I know how much of the world I have to create in order to support what’s on the page. I have to know more about my world than my readers do, otherwise it’s going to be difficult for me to keep consistency of action (and consequence) across the work, both in characters and the world in general.

But, as it happens, sometimes writers and readers don’t find the same things important, with regard to the worldbuilding. As a result, readers sometimes think about certain things more than the authors have, and the authors get caught flatfooted when readers want to know more about that particular thing. Alternately sometimes the author kind of bullshits through something because they don’t think it’s important and later it comes back to bite them and has to be explained away.

Oh, and you should watch the youtube video...has some interesting things to say about fans interacting with text, and the degree the author has control over that.

Takeaways?

* Anne Rice notoriously doesn't allow fanfic of her characters or novels, because they are "copyrighted". Hee. How's that working for you, Annie?

* How fans fight with the author's intent and how they view it.

* Focuses on Fault in the Stars, Harry Potter, Catcher in the Rye, and Foucault.

Downside -- I'm not a fan of audible books, sorry. I had troubles paying attention to the youtube video.

2. Doctor Who - New Year's Resolution

So...you are in a dank underwater archaeological site and one of your artifacts has creepily wandered off. You go searching around, and voila find a really gross and creepy gray octopus looking life-form sliding up a wall. What do you do?

a) run away screaming?
b) scream for your assistant's aid and a camera?
c) back away slowly and get your friend the heck out of there
d) touch the thing?

I don't know about anyone else -- but I would run away screaming. Okay maybe not screaming. But definitely away. I would NOT touch the thing. Why do people in horror television series or science fiction television series do dumb things?

Other than that...I pretty much enjoyed the episode. Certainly had the most humor to date. It was very funny in places.

( spoiler )

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Fanfiction and Dirty John

Sat, 08 Dec 2018 23:03:40 GMT

1. Hmmm..

The Bodies of the Girls Who Made Me, Fanfic and the Modern World

My experiences with fanfic and writing are VERY different.

So my perspective is slightly different.

I found hers interesting but....
( Read more... )

2. Tried the first episode of Dirty John and I'm not feeling the applause or acclaim for this series. It is sort of boring. I don't know what the critics are smoking, but whatever it is, I want some.

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This that and the other thing...

Sat, 10 Jun 2017 02:41:08 GMT

1. There's an horror/sci-fi novel out there entitled Amish Vampires in Space and according to smartbitches its not that bad and not a parody.

The plot seems to be about a transport crew that picks up a cryogenically frozen scientist and her wrecked lab along with a bunch of Amish colonists, out in the reaches of space. One of the crew members fiddles about in the scientist's lab and gets bitten by something -- which turns him into a vampire. He feeds on the livestock and most of the passengers and crew, until before you know it -- you have Amish Vampires in Space.

LOL!

2. I couldn't think any more or focus on anything or listen to anyone by the end of the work day. Felt a bit like I'd been hit by a Mac Truck. So nixed going to the Psychology Lecture - entitled Mad World. (I honestly didn't care, I wanted to go home and be a vegetable.)

Tried to write some during downtime, but brain fog made it difficult. Haven't been sleeping well, which may be part of it. Don't know.

3. Current state of politics is confusing and headache inducing, so I've been ignoring it for the most part.

( eh UK and US politics )

3. Riverdale

Well, the season finale surprised me. The resolution of the Jason Blossom mystery didn't, I sort of figured out who killed him some time ago. Although they did plant a few clever red-herrings.

The show is sort of a hybrid of various genres, noir, mystery, teen soap, and a bit of the Surreal Twin Peaks/Graphic novel. The parents or adults are the villains in the piece.
With their kids navigating the stormy waters of their secrets.

I'm sticking with it. Rather enjoyed it. Doesn't require that much attention, I like the characters, and find their subversion of the bad trope interesting. Jughead is the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks, but he's wickedly bright, not strong or tough at all, and a bit of a nerd, who loves to sit in a corner and write. A sensitive soul. And slight of build. Betty Cooper is the quintessential good girl next door, except she has a dark side, and her own secrets.

None of the kids look like kids of course. They all look like they are in their 20s. I think Stranger Things might be the only television series I've seen that employs actual teens.

4.) I have written 279 pages and 147,700 words on my novel to date. Which could prove problematic when I decide to publish it. If I publish it. At this rate, it may well clock in at a little over 350 or 400 pages and 199,000 words or thereabouts. I tend to write books about that length.

I am not a short story writer. And, while I dabbled with fanfic, I find it difficult to write.

( somewhat lengthy discussion of writing fanfic, writing in general )

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