Confessions of a Middle-Aged FanGirl

My kid's all grown up... sorta

2009-10-29T20:36:36Z

You know you've pretty much accepted that your kid's on the grown up side of childhood when you find yourself helping tart her up as a gothy-hooker type for a Halloween dance without batting an eye.

The Upside: This is so far out from how she likes to dress it's not even funny. She's still insisting on limiting the amount of skin actually showing (and what kind - yay for modest kids!). She was able to borrow everything from friends (I think she loaned out some stuff to someone, but I don't remember what that costume was all about).

The Downside: My kid should not look that good in patterned fishnets and "tulle" skirts. It's just wrong. I should be hating this whole thing and refusing to let her out of the house looking like that, but can't help but wonder if Target has a spiked dog collar in black that she could pick up before tomorrow. For all that she's kept her neckline, hemline and blouse length to wonderfully modest levels, she still looks like a hooker in that outfit.

*headdesk*

Oh, and did I mention they're wearing this stuff to school all day tomorrow? Her yoga class should be interesting, even with the black bike shorts on under the skirts (there's a black one on top of a red one).

Drinking poll

2009-10-26T05:14:30Z

HA! Not *that* kind of drinking.

Okay, not *necessarily* that kind of drinking. :-)

View Poll: #1476429

Beta news

2009-10-25T00:31:47Z

If anyone but Joy is still awaiting a beta from me, let me know because it means it's fallen into the black hole that is my mind. :-) So far as I know, Joy's Trilogy beta is the only one still on my plate (and yes, dear, it's in progress ;-).

Oh! You know what would be a cool journal thingy?

2009-10-24T04:13:54Z

I would *love* to be able to pull up entries from my flist/circle based on a particular tag. Yeah, it would require my flist to use the same tag, but given that I've just seen three different folks use exactly the same tag for something, it would be well worth it.

Now, I just have to go look up the "how to submit a suggestion" thingy on both LJ and DW.

I can't believe I'm doing this

2009-10-24T00:12:49Z

Okay, you Criminal Minds folks, how long was Gideon on medical leave before the first episode of the series?

Why you ask?

I can't believe I'm doing this.

My NCIS serial killer fic stalled. The whole time I was working on it before it stalled out, I kept hearing Hotch in my head. (That's in the normal writerly way of hearing voices, not the creepy, call the guys in the white coats, way. Just back away from the telephone, folks. ;-) As has worked in the past when something's stalled, I went back and tried to figure out where I'd taken a wrong turn. What I finally *did* figure out was that this needs to be a crossover. It's pretty much demanding it. I've just got to work out the time line. I'm already going AU in that Kate's alive, but I was hoping to place it not long after SWAK, which happened in May of the year that CM started in September. Also, does anyone remember when Reid started at the FBI? I know he was 23 when the series started (since we saw his 24th birthday in an early episode), but I don't recall if they ever said how old he was when he joined up. Oh, and wasn't he Gideon's prize student at Quanitco?

Great article about servicemen's attitude toward DADT

2009-10-22T05:14:30Z

The November 2009 issue of The Advocate has a great article called Straight Guys Tell (it was recced by someone on my flist, but I can't remember who it was). Go. Read.

You know you're a native Houstonian when...

2009-10-18T00:44:56Z

...you want to stay up all night just to watch the temperature drop into the low fifties for the first time since about February.

I have become hopelessly addicted to Top Gear

2009-10-10T21:45:27Z

And it's all *your* fault, folks! Yes, you know who you are out there. I'd be innocently waiting for Torchwood or Dr. Who or something on BBC America and catch the last fifteen minutes or so of Top Gear. Blinkin' weird show, but what can you do? Slowly, I started noticing that I'd flip over to BBCA just a bit earlier each time.

Now I'm watching freakin' *marathons*.

AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THEM!

You *will* pay.

One day.

When you least expect it.

*You* *will* *pay*.

Just sad ;-)

2009-10-10T19:01:00Z

... that I have a roast in the oven, but have just ordered pizza due to a sudden craving.

Oh, well, I'll just crank the temp down on the roast and cook it even slower (as it's not the best cut, slower is better anyway). It's too big for my crock pot, or I'd've put it in there to start with.

Putting out the call

2009-10-06T03:15:00Z

kazbaby's brother's family needs a hand. They just had a beautiful baby girl, but she came a month early and is going to be in ICU for a while. On top of that, they'd recently moved and found a job that wasn't, a home that wasn't and now are faced with dealing with that on top of their newborn's health issues (fortunately, it looks like she's going to be fine, but it's going to be a while). Lack of health insurance is the least of their worries at the moment.

Here's the link to the relevant post on her journal.

I know this economy has us all struggling to some extent, but if you've got a bit you can spare, think about sending it to kazbaby to pass on to her brother (check the post above for details).

This is one of those "pay it forward" moments. I know I've been in dire straits in the past and had friends (many of them fandom friends, too) who were able to help me keep my head above water. I will never be able to repay them except by helping others when I can. Don't *ever* think that $5 laying in the bottom of your purse or in the change can on your dresser is too little; that it won't matter. I can remember crying with joy over a $5 bill someone sent me once during some of my darkest days. To this day, I don't know who sent it to me, but that $5 let me put gas in my car so I could go to work for the rest of the week and I thank that anonymous donor every time it comes to mind.

Fandom is more than a shared love of a show or a universe. We're a community, we're family and I will never, *ever* forget that.

SGU - As told by Ivory Gates

2009-10-05T00:55:06Z

Back away from whatever you're drinking and go read that.

Seriously. Go. You'll thank me later. :-)

Wearing glasses

2009-10-05T00:33:14Z

My left eye was very puffy when I woke up yesterday morning. I didn't think anything of it, until I realized it had never really gone down during the day. So, I decided to take out my contacts and let them soak for a day or so while I switched back to glasses to give my eyes a break.

Oops.

I forgot something.

Aside from the whole "WOW! I feel tall!" thing that comes with switching, my glasses are the previous prescription rather than the current one... which is actually ready to probably be upgraded again. In short, I can't see worth a damn. I walked to the grocery store today and damn near missed the bus to come home because I couldn't make out which bus it was. :-)

Ah, well. There's no pinkness (been there, done that) and so far no discharge, just a lot of puffiness around my eye. I *suspect* it's an allergic response to something. Oh, pardon me, an expression of my particulate sensitivity. *rolls eyes* But I figure giving my eyes a break from the contacts can't hurt.

Unless I trip and fall and break my neck because I'm blind as a friggin' bat but without benefit of echo location!

Food and appetite and stuff

2009-10-04T01:41:19Z

I'm one of those weird people who sometimes forget to eat. I'll get so into something that when my stomach starts nagging at me to please fill it, I'll go, "yeah, yeah, just a minute, lemme finish this...". Hours later, I'll realize I never did stop for lunch or dinner or whatever. Now, here's the bad part. At that point, I want food and I want it NOW. I did this to myself today. Ended up popping over to Popeye's Chicken (not far from here) and getting one of their big dinner specials (love cold fried chicken). So, some chicken, far too many mashed potatoes and biscuits and damn, I'm not only no longer hungry, I figure I may never be hungry again.

At least not until the next time (butnow I've got *chicken* :-).

Oh, and did you know they make Snicker's *Dark* now? I did not need to know this.

SGU: Pilot w/spoilers

2009-10-03T05:10:24Z

First off, someone buy those folks a damned tripod for the camera.

This strikes me as SGA and BSG's delinquent bastard child who is somehow second cousin to Star Trek: Voyager. This is not a good thing. Now, does it have potential? Possibly. At the moment, they've pretty much redone Rising on a space ship instead of a sunken city only without competent people in place. *yawn* Been there, done that, only the folks on Atlantis had brains.

I'd already figured that Daniel would be there in the form of a recorded message. The training tapes were actually the best part about it. :-) And not just because I wanted a Daniel fix. They're a rational product of the kinds of things I've been wanting to see in Stargate for years. A magical ship that seeks out what they "need", stops for N hours and then takes off when the time limit's up is, um, silly? Yeah, that's the word I'm looking for. Very silly. And a very cheap source of conflict.

Ah, well.

SGU - comment while watching - no spoilers

2009-10-03T03:29:26Z

Oh, look! The Boyz from Bridge saw The Last Starfighter, too!

ETA: Oh, look! It's 10-Forward! :-)

Icon Love!

2009-10-02T05:36:59Z

The lovely and talented dhae_knight made this icon after perving on the phrase I used in a comment about the ludicrous Tony/Ziva faux romance crap that's ruining NCIS. :-)

I have the best flist/circle. :-)

"Mural Video"

2009-09-28T23:29:43Z

This is a *very* cool video. Just sit back and watch it go.

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1921961

9th Annual Stargate Fan Awards Annouced!

2009-09-27T00:20:15Z

I've been through all the winners (did that as part of the team thing), but I don't think I can possibly list all the winners among my DW circle or LJ flist. So, you guys pop over and check out the winners. Just click the "winners" button on the navigation bar.

Note that the Honorable Mentions only show up when you sort by category. (A note to that effect should be showing up on that window soon... unless our magical webmistress comes up with a better idea, first. There's always something that doesn't get noticed before you go live. :-)

I want to thank those of you who nominated my works and especially those of you who voted for The Yardman, which won for "Best Gen Daniel Drama Story".

Thank you everyone!

EEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! :-)

Can you just hear Daniel's ranting?

2009-09-24T23:12:55Z

So, my kid got assigned a project in Spanish today. One of the options concerns a poem called Romance de la Luna Luna. She had me look it up (so I could read it, she's got it) and that's the link I came up with... then promptly started laughing my ass off. That page has the original Spanish as well as several translations. Kid tells me they're all pretty bad (direct translations rather than idiomatic - my word, not hers ;-), but they're all very, very funny. :-)

I just want to know something... what's a nard and since when does the moon have breasts made of tin? :-)

Don't want to see NCIS devolve into a romance?

2009-09-23T21:48:41Z

I'm still depressed over last night, but several people have helped talk me down. :-) I'm not giving up just yet and maybe the show can recover from plotlessness.

That said, over on the CBS forums, one of the moderators has opened a thread asking if people want to see Tony and Ziva as a couple. Most likely this is going to be seen by TPTB. Please, folks, go, speak up. Even if you love Tony/Ziva in fic and in subtext (and I know there are a few of you here), consider what it would do to the show to take it *out* of subtext and make it text and do you *really* trust these writers to handle it in a satisfactory manner.

http://www.cbs.com/forum/posts/list/88638.page

You do have to register and log in, but it's trivial and doesn't result in masses of spam. :-)

So Long, NCIS, Thanks for all the Fish

2009-09-23T03:46:38Z

It's always hard to see a show you love jump the shark, but that's what we got tonight with the Season 7 opener, "Truth or Consequences". The script was one bad!fic cliche after another that not even Michael Weatherly's excellent performance could manage to elevate higher than somewhere between Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and Plan 9 From Outer Space. Take that back, Killer Tomatoes was at least nicely camp. I think "Truth or Consequences" is about on par with watching Tom Delay lip-sync "Wild Thing" (there is not enough brain bleach on the planet).

Next week's looks just as bad. I don't know if I'll bother. I think I *will* avoid watching first run out of principle. I'm not to the point of boycotting sponsors, and might not ever get to that point.

I'm not sure I care enough any more.

I live

2009-09-19T18:36:18Z

Life has gotten bothersome. Nothing major, just haven't felt much like journaling. But, I'm sitting here on a Saturday afternoon and thought I'd catch up here.

The kid's dad picked her up to take her to her dance rehearsal (for a friend's Quinceañera) and to hang out for a bit. He's forfeited his weekends during this period since the practices are all on Saturday and opted to drive her back and forth instead. He ended up being a crap husband, but he's turned into a pretty darned good ex and works hard at being a good dad. I really can't complain.

We had Version 1 of a pot of beans last night. They were good, though not the best, but then the first night never is. I soaked more beans over night and now Pot O'Beans, Version 2 is on the stove. I've got a roast in thawing in the fridge that I'll cook up tomorrow and the remnants will end up in the beans.

The feline charity maternity ward is open. The last litter that someone dropped here didn't make it past their third day, poor little things. Classic failure to thrive. They didn't seem to be premature, I suspect Mom had issues. Happily, (okay, I'd rather they dropped them elsewhere, but since they're here) the current crop is hale and hearty (and a different mom). Time to spin the Wheel O'Kitten Homes again and find places for these guys. This mom is only a tad feral and maybe I can find someone to take her (and SPAY HER), too. She's very sweet once you get past her fear that you're going to eat her. I think she used to be someone's pet, but as too often happens, she was likely dumped and abused and now as much as she wants affection, she's just too damned terrified to accept it easily.

I should be using this time to write, but I feel like I've been beaten from the inside out. Nights of insomnia followed by coma-like sleep have me feeling more like death warmed over than anything else. I think I'll take a walk later and see if that helps.

Eight years on

2009-09-11T13:56:39Z

It was right around this time of the morning when I heard the first rumors. A small plane crashed into a building in New York City; a military jet was hijacked; a mid-air collision over Manhattan. I was heading into a meeting and was the only one there who was able to access my email at the time (snagged one of the "locked down" computers in the room - telnet is a lovely thing).

Throughout the interminable morning, I gave reports out to the group and by half way through the morning, all pretense died as the enormity of what was happening back East hit home. Soon, I was relaying local information, still waiting to hear from friends and family who were out of touch, but whom I knew worked near the World Trade Center. NASA going on lockdown (someone's brother worked there); all planes grounded (someone's wife and children were stranded in some random airport having been flying home from visiting family); schools having children shelter in place, but letting them go home with their parents (half of us wanted to rush out and grab our children and hold them close - the other half were childless).

As we were off-site, we were waiting for the inevitable university closing (it seemed inevitable to us and we all had the urge to go to ground in our homes not our offices) and suddenly the Southwest Airlines planes I used to watch from a former-office window as they flew over downtown every half hour grew ominous instead of friendly. I used to have a passing worry about mechanical problems and wondered what the outcome would be in a fight between a plane and a skyscraper. It's something I wish I'd never learned the answer to.

I was fortunate. The ensuing days proved that everyone in my life who'd been in harm's way were safe and sound, though stunned, and, in a couple of cases, temporarily homeless. We were all grieving.

To all those who lost friends and loved ones, we haven't forgotten.

We will never forget.

The Apocalypse is Nigh!

2009-09-02T15:42:51Z

It was 67 degrees this morning when my alarm went off.

67 degrees.

In HOUSTON.

In *early* SEPTEMBER!

I'm tellin' ya, it's the end times.

SG-1Character Meta: Dangerous!Daniel

2009-08-26T01:42:02Z

I've always seen Daniel as the most dangerous man at the SGC. Yes, he prefers peaceful solutions when at all possible and will bend over backwards to achieve them, when possible... but. Peaceful solutions are desired, in part, because they're "cost effective" for both individuals and society. Yeah, Daniel's got that touchy-feely side and it's a large, important part of him, but he's also an anthropologist. He's done this sort of analysis. I'd say he does this sort of analysis every damn day in his job.

Consider how easily he jumped into the fray in the movie. Then there's the symbiote tank incident. In both of those cases, I got the impression he weighed the risk, weighed the benefit and performed the necessary actions. I don't think he lost a moment's sleep over it, either.

Daniel tends to stress far more over actions not taken, than over anything he has made up his mind to do.

Remember his talk with Loren in The Light? Jack was the one who got all emo and excited, while Daniel's talk with Loren about Loren having a vested interest in SG1 staying was just this side of clinical.

I've always thought Absolute Power was merely an expression of how Daniel would be influenced by the knowledge rather than this being where anyone in that position would end up.

There are many more examples in canon, but Prototype probably sums it up nicely. By that time, Daniel had enough data to know that whozit (I keep coming up with Kaless, but wasn't that some Klingon or other? :-) was not salvageable and was, in fact, horrifically dangerous. The solution? Kill him while they still could, a decision that was neatly turned against Daniel in The Shroud... though we all knew Daniel would win the day (with a little help from Merlin, and Jack ;-). [ETA: His name was Khalek. Thank you flist/circle!]

When his intellect and his moral compass both point to true north, Daniel can be far more ruthless than Teal'c or Jack and I think he could give Maybourne and Simmons a run for their money (Kinsey doesn't count, he was just crazy :-). If it weren't for the fact that he has a strong moral compass and doesn't have an overwhelming ego, he could have been one of those wonderfully complex bad guys we all wish we could write convincingly. :-) (This heads into dark!Daniel territory, but they're so closely connected. See Absolute Power!Daniel. ;-)

Now consider Daniel's job. Pre-SGC, that meant spending a lot of time in North Africa (Egyptologist, remember). This is far from a stable region. In the movie, he demonstrated that he knew how to shoot. I have no doubt he'd defended dig sites from, well, whoever might come along and want to mess with a bunch of archeologists; thieves, gangs, insurgents, terrorists, whoever.

On Abydos, he organized a militia and taught them how to use their new weapons. While I doubt he had military training, he'd apparently had some training (probably on how to protect a dig site and apparently at least how to fire a handgun), plus he had information about military structures and practices from a hundred cultures stuffed into his head. Most importantly, he had the ability to process that information and turn it into a plan of action. At this point, his "physical danger" quotient was more potential than actual, I think.

Then we get to his time on SG-1.

This is where Daniel gained the rest of the necessary "danger" skillset. (Sold separately, batteries not included - sorry, couldn't resist. ;-) Prior to the training and experience he gained as a member of the SGC and, more importantly, part of SG-1, Daniel had to reason his way through the necessary actions dictated by his intellect and supported by his moral compass. Granted, he reasons very quickly, but nothing can truly replace training and experience.

By the time we get to Prototype (and really, he's been there all along to some degree or other), Daniel, while always a moral and intellectual force to be reckoned with, has added the ability to assert his authority more "directly", as necessary. He has gained the specialized knowledge and experience to know when to pull those particular tools out of his bag of tricks and when to rely on other techniques.

After all, looping back to his first scene in the film, challenging the archeological community on the age of the pyramids is a fairly dangerous intellectual act, in and of itself. Post-Prototype, he might have just shot three or four of the idiots and been done with it. For the good of the discipline, of course. :-)