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And here's the second part of this two-part essay... because LJ does not like long posts :-P
( Part 2 of 2 )
( Part 2 of 2 )
For Loz, who wanted this :-)
( Part 1 of 2 )
Warning: This is long. Seriously long. With lots of thinky thoughts. And picspam! But still: long. Couldn't hurt to make some tea first.
Ready, then?
( Part 1 of 2 )
Easter haiku
Apr. 7th, 2012 10:10 pmLong Easter weekend
You take the chocolate lambs
I'll have the lie-ins
You take the chocolate lambs
I'll have the lie-ins
To eat, perchance to fress
Mar. 18th, 2012 05:20 pmI have the random need to share a recipe. With apologies to the vegetarians on my f'list, then... *cough*
Do you like putting a dry rub on meat prior to grilling it? Yes? Or maybe you don't know, because you've never tried it? Then welcome to...
Chamekke's Spicy Dry Rub!!!
This recipe makes enough to season 2 skinless chicken breasts ... or coat one chicken breast very thickly! (I expect it's fine on other meats too, just haven't tried it yet because we're not big meat eaters as a rule. Feel free to report back if you do :-)
Ingredients:
Instructions:
1. Mix ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. Rub the mix into skinless chicken breasts a few minutes before grilling.
3. Store the unused portion in a lidded container, but don't leave it for too long; that ground coriander seed won't stay fresh forever!
This is now the ONLY way my husband likes to eat chicken. Yup, he's been stealthily beguiled by a healthful, no-fat recipe. I'm so pleased... and amused ;-)
Do you like putting a dry rub on meat prior to grilling it? Yes? Or maybe you don't know, because you've never tried it? Then welcome to...
Chamekke's Spicy Dry Rub!!!
This recipe makes enough to season 2 skinless chicken breasts ... or coat one chicken breast very thickly! (I expect it's fine on other meats too, just haven't tried it yet because we're not big meat eaters as a rule. Feel free to report back if you do :-)
Ingredients:
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- A very generous pinch of freshly ground coriander seed
- A dash of cayenne
- A soupçon of freshly grated black pepper (100% optional, what can I tell you, any excuse to use the word soupçon)
Instructions:
1. Mix ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. Rub the mix into skinless chicken breasts a few minutes before grilling.
3. Store the unused portion in a lidded container, but don't leave it for too long; that ground coriander seed won't stay fresh forever!
This is now the ONLY way my husband likes to eat chicken. Yup, he's been stealthily beguiled by a healthful, no-fat recipe. I'm so pleased... and amused ;-)
I've been wanting to share this with my f'list for ages!
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
grassle regularly blows me away with her wonderful BBC Sherlock fics.
She can write blazingly hot smut, outrageously funny fics that will keep you in stitches, and stories that manage both simultaneously. She's one of the most literate fan writers out there and her grasp of character is impeccable, but she's also got an endearing weakness for really bad puns. In a fandom that's chock-a-block with good writers, she's a unique and delightful voice, and whenever a new grassle fic shows up on my f'list, I have to smother my whoops of delight lest I alarm the neighbours.
( And here's what she's written! )
grassle regularly blows me away with her wonderful BBC Sherlock fics. She can write blazingly hot smut, outrageously funny fics that will keep you in stitches, and stories that manage both simultaneously. She's one of the most literate fan writers out there and her grasp of character is impeccable, but she's also got an endearing weakness for really bad puns. In a fandom that's chock-a-block with good writers, she's a unique and delightful voice, and whenever a new grassle fic shows up on my f'list, I have to smother my whoops of delight lest I alarm the neighbours.
( And here's what she's written! )
Sporfle-worthy feminist wisdom here. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Originally posted byjimhines at Striking a Pose (Women and Fantasy Covers)
Originally posted by
jimhines at Striking a Pose (Women and Fantasy Covers)A while back, we had a discussion on the blog about the cover art for my princess novels. For the most part, I really like these covers, but they’re not perfect.
Now I could talk about the way women are posed in cover art … or I could show you. I opted for the latter, in part because it helped me to understand it better. I expected posing like Danielle to feel a little weird and unnatural. I did not expect immediate, physical pain from trying (rather unsuccessfully) to do the hip thing she’s got going on.
I recruited my wife to take the pictures, which she kindly did with a minimum of laughter.
Being me, I naturally couldn’t stop there. I headed over to Amazon and grabbed a sampling of book covers, primarily urban fantasy, and spent the evening doing a photoshoot. Click on if you want to see the results (or if you just really want to see a shot of topless Jim).
Mirrored from Jim C. Hines.
YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.
As the rest of you may not know, Western Samoa's time zone has historically been GMT - 11:00 hours. The tiny island nation is thus a godsend to every writer who is struggling frantically to complete her fic by the deadline of midnight "somewhere".
WELL. At the end of 29 December 2011, Western Samoa (now more commonly called Samoa. Who knew?) jumped forward by one day. How? It magically omitted 30 December from the local calendar by repositioning itself to the west of the International Date Line. This was done to help Samoa boost its economy, which relies on doing business with Australia and New Zealand. (Up until now, Samoa was 21 hours behind Sydney, but the change means they are now 3 hours ahead, i.e. GMT + 13:00 hours.)
That's the bad news! Now for the good news.
American Samoa (located some 77 miles away) is still GMT - 11:00 hours. OK, American Samoa doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but frankly let's be grateful there's still a country left standing in that time zone that we can point to when struggling to get our fics done "on time". It's not yet midnight in American Samoa! shall be our new clarion call of last resort.
In short:
- Western Samoa: no longer good.
- American Samoa: still good.
So, Happy New Year to everyone! Including those of you in the assorted Samoas. Even if you haven't started celebrating quite yet <333
As the rest of you may not know, Western Samoa's time zone has historically been GMT - 11:00 hours. The tiny island nation is thus a godsend to every writer who is struggling frantically to complete her fic by the deadline of midnight "somewhere".
WELL. At the end of 29 December 2011, Western Samoa (now more commonly called Samoa. Who knew?) jumped forward by one day. How? It magically omitted 30 December from the local calendar by repositioning itself to the west of the International Date Line. This was done to help Samoa boost its economy, which relies on doing business with Australia and New Zealand. (Up until now, Samoa was 21 hours behind Sydney, but the change means they are now 3 hours ahead, i.e. GMT + 13:00 hours.)
That's the bad news! Now for the good news.
American Samoa (located some 77 miles away) is still GMT - 11:00 hours. OK, American Samoa doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but frankly let's be grateful there's still a country left standing in that time zone that we can point to when struggling to get our fics done "on time". It's not yet midnight in American Samoa! shall be our new clarion call of last resort.
In short:
- Western Samoa: no longer good.
- American Samoa: still good.
So, Happy New Year to everyone! Including those of you in the assorted Samoas. Even if you haven't started celebrating quite yet <333
FIC (DRABBLE): What, the curtains?
Dec. 29th, 2011 08:51 pmSummary: Nothing is stronger than a mother's love... not even her tapestry needle.
Author's note: Written for the Icon Challenge on the LiveJournal community![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
lifein1973 on 9-Dec-11. The icon in question is, um... *points up and to the right*
"Mum! I can't wear this!"
"Stop fidgeting, lad, or I'll stick you with a pin. —Ah, that's more like."
"Evening jackets are supposed to be elegant, mum. Not flocked. I look like I'm wearing a bloody sofa..."
"Language! What the Lord Mayor doesn't know won't hurt him. It worked for Maria von Trapp and it'll work for you. Now stop fussing."
"The other men have off-the-rack..."
"Well, they don't have mothers who love their sons, then. —All right, you can look now."
"Ah, God..."
"—And if you keep moaning, it'll be more than curtains for YOU, sonny-jim!"
Author's note: Written for the Icon Challenge on the LiveJournal community
lifein1973 on 9-Dec-11. The icon in question is, um... *points up and to the right*"Mum! I can't wear this!"
"Stop fidgeting, lad, or I'll stick you with a pin. —Ah, that's more like."
"Evening jackets are supposed to be elegant, mum. Not flocked. I look like I'm wearing a bloody sofa..."
"Language! What the Lord Mayor doesn't know won't hurt him. It worked for Maria von Trapp and it'll work for you. Now stop fussing."
"The other men have off-the-rack..."
"Well, they don't have mothers who love their sons, then. —All right, you can look now."
"Ah, God..."
"—And if you keep moaning, it'll be more than curtains for YOU, sonny-jim!"
FIC (DRABBLE): Superhero
Dec. 29th, 2011 08:47 pmSummary: His mission: to protect the prozzies, the drunks, the stray dogs, the little old men.
Author's note: Written for the challenge High Concept on the LiveJournal community lifein1973 on 21-Oct-11.
By day he's a senior police officer. He cultivates the aura of a compromised bureaucrat, a man infinitely more devoted to his career path than to justice.
In his wildest dreams, he never expected his disguise to be so convincing.
When darkness falls, he takes out the cape, the leggings, and strokes them reverently. Then he runs up to the roof, dons his costume like a knight strapping on his armour, and leaps into the night's embrace.
His mission: to protect the prozzies, the drunks, the stray dogs, the little old men.
It's a bird! It's a plane!
It's... Superintendent.
Author's note: Written for the challenge High Concept on the LiveJournal community lifein1973 on 21-Oct-11.
By day he's a senior police officer. He cultivates the aura of a compromised bureaucrat, a man infinitely more devoted to his career path than to justice.
In his wildest dreams, he never expected his disguise to be so convincing.
When darkness falls, he takes out the cape, the leggings, and strokes them reverently. Then he runs up to the roof, dons his costume like a knight strapping on his armour, and leaps into the night's embrace.
His mission: to protect the prozzies, the drunks, the stray dogs, the little old men.
It's a bird! It's a plane!
It's... Superintendent.
I'll come as the Trojan Rabbit
Nov. 26th, 2011 03:26 pm...or maybe just a rabbit wearing a Trojan.
Our local movie theatre is kicking off a participatory-cinema series with Quote-Along Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I can hardly wait. And OK, I'm not so hard-core that I know all the lyrics to "Brave Sir Robin", but I do sort of adore this film. Plus the spouse is seriously gung ho! So, sounds like a date.
Here's the write-up:
Grab your coconuts and travel along with King Arthur's fearless Knights of the Round Table on their silly adventure. Prizes for costumes, and bevvies served at the concession stand. Answer our questions three on Saturday, December 10th.
So. Any ideas what I (we) should wear? Seriously I'm kind of leaning towards a minimalist witch hat and a small paper cone over the nose ... but I'm up for other suggestions.
Hit me!
ETA: If I had a cat, and the cat liked Monty Python too, it could wear this.
Our local movie theatre is kicking off a participatory-cinema series with Quote-Along Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I can hardly wait. And OK, I'm not so hard-core that I know all the lyrics to "Brave Sir Robin", but I do sort of adore this film. Plus the spouse is seriously gung ho! So, sounds like a date.
Here's the write-up:
Grab your coconuts and travel along with King Arthur's fearless Knights of the Round Table on their silly adventure. Prizes for costumes, and bevvies served at the concession stand. Answer our questions three on Saturday, December 10th.
So. Any ideas what I (we) should wear? Seriously I'm kind of leaning towards a minimalist witch hat and a small paper cone over the nose ... but I'm up for other suggestions.
Hit me!
ETA: If I had a cat, and the cat liked Monty Python too, it could wear this.
META: Meet the Moustaches of Mars!
Nov. 26th, 2011 12:57 amMoustaches: the very hair of manliness. Where would Life on Mars be without them? Nowhere, that's where. Can you imagine Ray without his moustache, or Litton? I can't.
So when I read that Dean Andrews is regrowing his Ray moustache to raise money for prostate cancer, I realised that Movember is indeed the perfect month for a picspammy profile of...
( The Moustachio'ed Men of Mars!!! )
So when I read that Dean Andrews is regrowing his Ray moustache to raise money for prostate cancer, I realised that Movember is indeed the perfect month for a picspammy profile of...
I'm working on a meta essay for lifein1973 that's *cough* just a bit image-heavy. The pics are in JPEG format and already optimized for the Web; that part's fine. But there are several dozen (at present), and even if I reduce the number somewhat and then split the essay into parts... that's still quite a lot. The task is intimidating enough that I've been procrastinating over this like crazy.
So, I want to ask those of you who've uploaded/inserted multiple images into a LiveJournal post: what's the easiest, most efficient method? Do you save the pics to PhotoBucket and link to them? Do you use LJ's Scrapbook feature? *shudder* Or is there another approach that works well for you?
Thanks ♥
And now, because you've been so kind as to read this...here's a Lovely Owl!
lifein1973 that's *cough* just a bit image-heavy. The pics are in JPEG format and already optimized for the Web; that part's fine. But there are several dozen (at present), and even if I reduce the number somewhat and then split the essay into parts... that's still quite a lot. The task is intimidating enough that I've been procrastinating over this like crazy.So, I want to ask those of you who've uploaded/inserted multiple images into a LiveJournal post: what's the easiest, most efficient method? Do you save the pics to PhotoBucket and link to them? Do you use LJ's Scrapbook feature? *shudder* Or is there another approach that works well for you?
Thanks ♥
And now, because you've been so kind as to read this...here's a Lovely Owl!
nSeveral readers have asked me questions about my Big Bang fic, There's a Land of Begin Again. What's really going on with Sam? What does the ending mean? Has his timeline completely gone off the rails? And so on.
So I thought it couldn't hurt to share this DVD commentary with those who want to know more. If you've read the fic and you're curious, read on.
If you haven't actually read the fic, HERE BE MAJOR SPOILERS! You should *discreet cough* probably go off and read the fic before proceeding.
So, that having been said, here's the deep background on the fic.
( When I was 13 years old, my friend Karen was in a car accident. She awoke with complete retrograde amnesia... )
So I thought it couldn't hurt to share this DVD commentary with those who want to know more. If you've read the fic and you're curious, read on.
If you haven't actually read the fic, HERE BE MAJOR SPOILERS! You should *discreet cough* probably go off and read the fic before proceeding.
So, that having been said, here's the deep background on the fic.
( When I was 13 years old, my friend Karen was in a car accident. She awoke with complete retrograde amnesia... )
People of colour in Life on Mars?
Sep. 26th, 2011 01:00 amI wanted to suggest a theme for recs week 2011 on the lifein1973 comm, then realised that the subject deserves a closer look.
My theme suggestion: any fics (or other fanworks) that focus on a character of colour in Life on Mars. Then I thought, who exactly would that be? We all know Maya and Nelson, Glen and Eve; but just how many others are there?
( Here's my effort at putting together an all-inclusive list... )
lifein1973 comm, then realised that the subject deserves a closer look.My theme suggestion: any fics (or other fanworks) that focus on a character of colour in Life on Mars. Then I thought, who exactly would that be? We all know Maya and Nelson, Glen and Eve; but just how many others are there?
( Here's my effort at putting together an all-inclusive list... )
FIC: There's a Land of Begin Again
Sep. 2nd, 2011 08:44 amTitle: There's a Land of Begin Again
Fandom: Life on Mars (UK)
Author:chamekke
Rating: Blue Cortina, PG-13
Word count: 21,660 words.
Warning/s: Secondary character deaths, some violence, but nothing very graphic in either case. Mild medical detail.
Summary: Sam jumps in 2006 — and wakes up as a 12-year-old boy in a 1950 hospital bed.
Notes: Sam & Gene, gen/friendship, AR but not AU. Angst, timey-wimeyness, amnesia. You know: the usual.
Link to story: There's a Land of Begin Again (on AO3)
Link to title song: There's a Land of Begin Again by Vera Lynn (1942)
Many thanks tolozenger8 and draycevixen for their beta'ing and generous encouragement, and to severinne for being a shoulder to cry on ♥ Extra-special gratitude to grassle for editing, proofreading, and Britpicking above and beyond the call of duty. And of course, kisses to hambelandjemima for organising the very first Big Bang challenge so that we can enjoy all these fantastic fics and artwork. Mwah!
Artwork for this fic was furnished by the lovelywolviecat; you can see her illustrations here (note that they do contain spoilers).
And for those who have already read the fic, but wondering about what's "really" going on... here's the DVD commentary :-D
Realised that I never posted my fic to my own LJ. My apologies to everyone who has already seen this posted on thelom_bigbang comm.
Fandom: Life on Mars (UK)
Author:
chamekkeRating: Blue Cortina, PG-13
Word count: 21,660 words.
Warning/s: Secondary character deaths, some violence, but nothing very graphic in either case. Mild medical detail.
Summary: Sam jumps in 2006 — and wakes up as a 12-year-old boy in a 1950 hospital bed.
Notes: Sam & Gene, gen/friendship, AR but not AU. Angst, timey-wimeyness, amnesia. You know: the usual.
Link to story: There's a Land of Begin Again (on AO3)
Link to title song: There's a Land of Begin Again by Vera Lynn (1942)
Many thanks to
lozenger8 and draycevixen for their beta'ing and generous encouragement, and to severinne for being a shoulder to cry on ♥ Extra-special gratitude to grassle for editing, proofreading, and Britpicking above and beyond the call of duty. And of course, kisses to hambelandjemima for organising the very first Big Bang challenge so that we can enjoy all these fantastic fics and artwork. Mwah!Artwork for this fic was furnished by the lovely
wolviecat; you can see her illustrations here (note that they do contain spoilers).And for those who have already read the fic, but wondering about what's "really" going on... here's the DVD commentary :-D
Realised that I never posted my fic to my own LJ. My apologies to everyone who has already seen this posted on the
lom_bigbang comm.Sam Tyler: cloudy with a chance of showers
Aug. 8th, 2011 08:03 amWeather report for Emo* says that Sam's in for a bit of rain! Click the pic to see the full five-day forecast in all its glory :-)
The Sam images are fromfern_tree's brilliant Sam Tyler shimeji, and are used with her kind permission. Emo weather page courtesy of Canada's Weather Network.
*Yes, there really is a town in Canada called Emo. (It's named after the one in Ireland.)
The Sam images are from
fern_tree's brilliant Sam Tyler shimeji, and are used with her kind permission. Emo weather page courtesy of Canada's Weather Network.*Yes, there really is a town in Canada called Emo. (It's named after the one in Ireland.)
A shameful secret
May. 13th, 2011 08:53 pmMy husband and I enjoy a mixed marriage. He grew up thinking that the Daleks were terrifying. I, on the other hand, had virtually no exposure to Doctor Who, and do not even remember seeing a Dalek until five years ago.
As a result, when we watch New Who, hubs still has a strongly unpleasant visceral reaction to seeing a Dalek rear up on the screen. Whereas I... tend to coo.
*hangs head* Yes, it's true. I think the Daleks are cute as a button.
And, all right, scary metallic voice, but still. ( Look at them! )
As a result, when we watch New Who, hubs still has a strongly unpleasant visceral reaction to seeing a Dalek rear up on the screen. Whereas I... tend to coo.
*hangs head* Yes, it's true. I think the Daleks are cute as a button.
And, all right, scary metallic voice, but still. ( Look at them! )
Get your piping-hot writing links here!
Dec. 4th, 2010 09:30 pmFresh from wrisomifu 2010 (and with piping hot updates from 2011): some goodies!
Wrisomifu stands for "Write Something, You Miserable Fuck". It's an LJ comm that runs every November, and its members promise to write for a minimum of ten minutes a day during the entire month of November and to check in daily to report on the suffering. It's great fun (when it's not absolute agony), and I plan to sign up again in 2011.
Anyway! Although it's a closed community, the moderators kindly allowed me to collect all the links on writing and put them onto Delicious as shared links so that everyone can benefit from their collective hard work.
How to overcome writer's block! Links on beta'ing and self-editing! Tips on writing slash, identifying clichés... it's all here. Need a spot of Britpicking? How about background on the components of men's suits? Oh yeah, baby - and that's just a small sample! Browse and discover.
Link: Wrisomifu on Delicious
( Go here to see the same links in list format, grouped by type. )
( Dialogue links )
( Random useful links! )
( Worth a thousand words: visual inspiration )
( Poking your creativity )
( Writing sex scenes )
( General writing resources )
( On writing: grammar, punctuation, language usage )
( On editing: self-editing plus working with a beta )
( Indispensible research resources )
( Rules of writing fiction )
( Dealing with writer's block )
( Write something, anything: tools for writing )
( Introduction to wrisomifu )
wrisomifu 2010 (and with piping hot updates from 2011): some goodies!Wrisomifu stands for "Write Something, You Miserable Fuck". It's an LJ comm that runs every November, and its members promise to write for a minimum of ten minutes a day during the entire month of November and to check in daily to report on the suffering. It's great fun (when it's not absolute agony), and I plan to sign up again in 2011.
Anyway! Although it's a closed community, the moderators kindly allowed me to collect all the links on writing and put them onto Delicious as shared links so that everyone can benefit from their collective hard work.
How to overcome writer's block! Links on beta'ing and self-editing! Tips on writing slash, identifying clichés... it's all here. Need a spot of Britpicking? How about background on the components of men's suits? Oh yeah, baby - and that's just a small sample! Browse and discover.
Link: Wrisomifu on Delicious
( Go here to see the same links in list format, grouped by type. )
( Dialogue links )
( Random useful links! )
( Worth a thousand words: visual inspiration )
( Poking your creativity )
( Writing sex scenes )
( General writing resources )
( On writing: grammar, punctuation, language usage )
( On editing: self-editing plus working with a beta )
( Indispensible research resources )
( Rules of writing fiction )
( Dealing with writer's block )
( Write something, anything: tools for writing )
( Introduction to wrisomifu )
