All of my posts are f-locked except for my fic, fic recs, and icons. I don't care if you friend me, but please drop me a note in a comment somewhere (here would be good) letting me know if you're here for that or want me to friend you back where you can read the minutiae of my life. Thanks!

I just got back from having the battery in my car replaced. That was... fun. Though I guess I should say that the actual replacement experience wasn't terrible. That's probably the nicest, friendliest dealership I've ever been in. Sadly, I couldn't just go to autozone or someplace like that because none of the ones in town had the right battery for my car (at least not according to their online inventories). So the whole, OMG-my-car-won't-start-what-the-hell-happened-I-don't-have-the-money-for-this part really sucked but the actual replacement process was pretty painless.

ak tells me there is something going on tonight but she has given me no details and she's at the gym now.

Also, I haven't had a chance to eat yet today. Maybe ak will want to go get something when she's done. I'm going through PF Changs withdrawal.

Need to get recording my podbang fic and writing my yuletide fic and there's a Mad Men vid that I want to do. The Where The Wild Things Are vid had been postponed until the dvd comes out.

Newsweek this week: ignoring all of the controversy, the Polk biography that they review actually sounds really interesting. And those are two words that really shouldn't be in the same sentence. Polk and interesting. I think it might be a sign of the apocalypse.

And thanks to Exploring Music this past week, I now totally want emo!Rachmaninoff fic. And emo!Rachmaninoff/Tchaikovsky fic. Being a geek is so hard. Also, emo!Brahms is my favorite Brahms.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/204724.html. There are comments there.

( PR, FNL, Private Practice, GA, CM, Glee )I think that's it.

In other news, I still can't quite believe Mad Men is over for the season.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/204374.html. There are comments there.

So, McCann Erickson is buying Sterling Cooper. In an effort to, um, deflect some of the bad press, or show what clever ad-men they are, or just to get people to go to their website (or something like that) they're put this little clip as the intro to their website.

I laughed so hard. Supposedly, it'll be up for the next week or “or until Matthew Weiner yells at us for doing it.” They also took some ads out Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek (according to the NY Times).

Seriously, seriously funny.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/204206.html. There are comments there.

So, I didn't really pay much attention when I picked up my copy of the Star Trek blu ray (and I'm not saying that I wouldn't have bought it anyway, even in light of this) but I though this was a particularly interesting bit of marketing. In the special features listing on the back of the packaging, it say lovely things to get you to buy the dvi/blu ray. These start out in a pretty typical manner:

Over 3 Hours of Special Features
30 Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes (HD)
Nine Deleted Scenes (HD)
Featuring Young Kirk and Spock, Klingons, and more of the Green Girls (emphasis mine)

Yes, that's right folks. Star Trek: Now With More Green Girls.

I should not be surprised by this. I really shouldn't. But damn that's annoying and disheartening and just plain stupid. *sigh*

Tell me again how having Uhura in that mini-dress uniform without rank on it isn't sexist?

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/204014.html. There are comments there.

I've gotten my yuletide assignment and I've got a vague idea about the story that I want to write, so that's a relief. I need to refresh myself on the source but I think I'll be okay.

Now, to eat dinner.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/203775.html.

Even though I got no sleep last night, and I'm both tired, hungry, and possibly getting sick, today has been a pretty awesome day. Happy things about today include:

1. Getting an AO3 invite. All of my fic (mostly) is here now. Yay for shiny new things.

2. Yuletide signups ended last night, so that means assignments soon. *bounce* I ended up redoing my requests on the last day because I had a random extra character in one of my offers, I wanted to offer another fandom, and I switched my Alex Hamilton/John Laurens request from American Revolution rpf to 18th/19th Century Politics (it had more offers and they were on both character lists). I'm so ridiculously excited about about Yuletide. I've been going through letters and collecting prompts for treats (mainly things I didn't feel comfortable offering to write with the request sight unseen).

3. The sgabigbang archive went live, so I can officially start recording my podbang fic. My plan is to have finished reading it by Sunday, have it recorded by the 25th, and spend the remainder of the month editing. Hopefully that's a realistic time line.

4. I got a haircut! Ya'll have no idea how terribly I needed a haircut. This is probably the happiest I've been with a haircut in a long time. It was the one thing I could never quite get right in Charleston. We actually found what seems to be a good salon in Bowling Green, ak is scheduling manicures when they finish her highlights, and there is the possibility of future massages. Some pictures where you can't really see much of hte texture, but it vaguely resembles John Shepherd hair (I didn't make that connection until I started thinking about my podfic).

( pictures )

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/203379.html.

I officially have a fic to read for the amplificathon podbang challenge, so yay! That's a relief. I was kinda starting to stress about finding something.

Watching V... Once again the only legitimate source of religion is the Catholic church. I've been thinking about this for a while. It's definitely a trend. I can't think of many characters with specific religious views that aren't either Catholic or Jewish (it never rang true to me that CJ was Catholic). I know it's a thing with Aaron Sorkin, but I think there's a larger trend there too. The only exceptions that I can think of off of the top of my head are Touched By An Angel, Seventh Heaven (both inherently religious shows), Friday Night Lights (which is pretty relentlessly dedicated to realism in its characters) and that one character from Studio Sixty (though she was religious mainly where Aaron Sorkin could make fun of her). There are plenty of characters that reference God in some way but never get more specific than that. I'm not saying that there should be more religion on tv. If anything, I'd argue for more diversity in general, both in the attitudes of religious and non-religious/agnostic/atheistic characters but we all know how well Hollywood does diversity. I just think there's a trend and it'd probably make a good paper (or piece of meta). I'd just have to think about it a lot more. I might write it one day, when I feel like putting an appropriate amount of effort into it. I might even check the cpf for all of the pop culture conferences ak is look at (though I'd need to do that pretty soon, as the deadlines are close on most of them).

So, if I'm overlooking anything obvious, let me know. Or if you have thoughts in general...

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/203128.html.

HOW THE HELL WAS THAT THE SEASON FINALE OF MAD MEN?!?!?!?! THEY HAD ANOTHER 6 MINUTES!!!

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/202806.html.

From a decorating personality quiz over at Home Goods

twtd, you are a DRAMATIC MODERN

You keep up with culture, style, and trends, but have a classical appreciation for beautiful forms and well-made, functional objects. You are inspired by good design and quality craftsmanship, but have a sense of the theatrical and the fun. You liven things up and infuse personality into your rooms. You like how something ornate mixes with modern, or how daring flourishes, like bold color or a wild pattern, can inject some humor and contrast to the serious, straight lines of modern pieces. You are a style leader, and your friends look to you for advice. You are not afraid of glamour. Because you embrace color, art, and elegance, your home makes a happy impact.

You value serenity. While there are probably a lot of interesting things in your home, they are joined by your taste or a certain palette that keeps them in harmony. You appreciate the beauty in simple forms. Whether fancy or plain, you appreciate things that are well made and function as well as they look. You also have a strong respect for the environment and craftsmanship. You care about how things are made, and how they are used.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/202585.html.

Thus far, today has been a good day. I found out that because I moved to Ohio, my car insurance premiums got cut in half. I don't pay my car insurance right now (my mom does) but this is still wonderful news. Also, the internet is a wonderful thing and now, even though I have a mac, my computer and my xbox are speaking to each other and sharing media and itunes music and other lovely things that mean that I won't have to buy an Apple TV anytime in the near future. I love you internet and your many solutions to problems that I didn't even know I had.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/202410.html.

I feel like it's been a while since I've posted anything longer than three sentences. Life seems like it's been pretty uneventful lately. The job is still going well. I'm officially done with training, so yay! And I'm still pretty excited to get to go to work on a regular basis. It seems like all of the people I work with are pretty cool too, so that's good. I don't know that I want it to become my life plan, but it doesn't require a whole lot of thought, which means it's almost impossible to overthink and I think I need that for a little while. As this job might not last past January, it could certainly only be a little while.

We went up to Ann Arbor and had Ethiopian the other weekend and it was really amazing, though I don't know that I could eat it on a regular basis. I liked the food, I just didn't love the bread, which is kinda integral. But the trip was fun.

Halloween was also fun. ak posted pics of our costumes over in her dw, so I won't repost them. They came out really well, so that was awesome, even if the night itself wasn't as great. ak and I were both in weird moods, so sitting at the bar was less fun than it should have been.

I need Where The Wild Things Are to come out on dvd where I can vid it. I tried to do it with a torrent but I just couldn't deal with the bad picture quality.

I'm rereading The Historian, partly because I really wanted to and partially so I can offer it for Yuletide if anyone besides me requests it. I tried to reread it a summer ago and it just isn't a beach book. It is, however, a really good curl up on the couch in front of a theoretical fire book. It's also much easier to get into this time around.

We've finally caught up on Mad Men just in time for the season finale. ( possible spoilers )

I have to say, the previews for The Prisoner make it look really interesting, so I'll have something post Mad Men to watch on AMC

Three days until the next FNL! If I could have a countdown clock that reset every week, I would, but it would drive me crazy with anticipation. I sorta feel the need to watch the first ep of the season again.

Those are my two tv obsessions of the moment, though I'm still watching GA (which has been particularly good lately. God Izzy, can you just stay gone?), and Private Practice (how much did I love Charlotte's speech last week? She's totally my favorite character and I'm happy that we're theoretically going to get to see more of her) and The Good Wife, and CM, and I watch NCIS and CSI on Monday and Wednesdays when ak is in class all day. Top Chef and Project Runway are winding down, but I'm sure Bravo will give us something not as good to replace them with. V starts tonight but I have a feeling that ak's going to be more into it than I am. We need to catch up on Sanctuary or the dvr is going to start deleting episodes. I want Nurse Jackie to come back but I know that's not going to happen until the summer.

I've been lurking in the yulechat a lot lately, which I feel kinda bad about. But I'm not so great at group social interaction and I prety much just feel awkward when I try to talk about stuff. So yeah, I'll probably just keep lurking. I'm tempted to go lurk in the dw chat too. We'll see if I can muster up the courage.

Oh, I'm pinch hitting for the amplificaton big bang podficcing challenge, so if anyone has any good, preferably over 30,000 word, McShep recommendations, I'd love to hear about them. Yeah, I've been poking around the archive but I'd love some more personal guidance because when I was watching SGA, McShep was not my pairing. I didn't really have a pairing. I just wanted more Weir. I've got about a month, so the sooner I find a fic the sooner I can start recording.

Which reminds me that I need to finish thelittlebang fic I was working on recording. It might have to wait until Yuletide is over though. I don't want to get stuck with having too much to do all at one time and I know that I'm going to be working more as it gets closer to Christmas.

Oh, has anyone played Uncharted or Uncharted 2. The second one came up on the short list in Time and it sounded intriguing, so I'm curious. If I remember, I'll go look up reviews or something, but it would be so much easier for me if someone on my f-list had some sort of experience to share. Also, has anyone played DJ Hero yet? Is it as fun as the videos make it look?

And a final question, what in the world am I going to do with 250 icons? Seriously?

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/202159.html.

Friday Night Lights was just... guh. Heart-rippingly good. I hate watching this show when it actually airs. The suspense is just terrible. But the cute baby lesbian is back! I predict pulling out that season 3 dvds to watch in between episodes because I just cannot deal with going a whole week between episodes.

4 episodes of Mad Men left and we'll be all caught up. Of course when that happens there will probably be more episodes to watch.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/201415.html.

I got a google wave invite (no, I don't have any to give away yet) thanks to helens78. So, if anyone wants to find me, let me know and I'll give you my name/address/whatever-you-want-to-call-it.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/200892.html.

Y'all are never going to believe what happened at work tonight. 1. I sold my first tv, so yay! and 2. (and this is the really great one) the power went out. Seriously. It kinda sucked but it was kinda hilarious too. Yup. It looked really weird in there with only the emergency lights on.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/200454.html.

Today was an awesome day. I didn't have to go to work, I spent the hour ak was in class playing video games on the new xbox and listening to Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me, and ak reminded me that she wanted to go up to the mall in Toledo after class.

As it turns out, there is someplace to shop here that isn't 4 hours away. I got khakis for work and a really awesome dark green wool coat from Banana Republic and a couple shirts and a sweater from J. Crew and even better than that, we went looking for lunch and THERE'S A CHIC-FIL-A IN THE MALL!!! YOU PEOPLE DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW HAPPY THAT MADE ME! It was totally the best part of the day, even better than my super awesome coat that I've pretty much been wanting for 4 years (not this coat specifically but a coat in this style).

And I finished writing my yuletide request. And the weather has been so nice (as in not freezing).

So that was my awesome day of awesomeness.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/200428.html.

So I decided that I was going to be a steampunk mad scientist for Halloween to go with ak's steampunk pirate. Hence, I now have really awesome goggles:

( a picture )

I'm halfway done writing my yuletide requests. I figured that I needed to do it before the list was finalized or I'd never be able to get it down to four. I'm requesting Deathrace, 18th century rpf (Hamilton/John Laurens/the Marquis de Lafayette), Contact(book), and The Historian. I'll start on my letter after I finish the requests.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/200016.html.

Letters of Note is a pretty awesome blog that posts letter from famous people on a variety of subjects. Or as they put it, "Letters of Note is an attempt to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos. Scans/photos where possible. Fakes will be sneered at. Updated 2-3 times every weekday."

It's really fascinating in general, but I thought the language in today's letter from Carey Grant to Art Roth was particularly cool: a link where you can go read it for yourselves.

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/199926.html.

OMG I need a copy of Where The Wild Thing Are. I need it. This vid would be so perfectly awesome. *waits impatiently for a torrent the dvd*

This entry was originally posted at http://twtd.dreamwidth.org/199573.html.