wisteria

1. Wacky link of the day: Cats that look like Hitler. (via sarmoti)

2. I am knitting a Jayne hat for trinnifer. Quite easy and very amusing.

3. Those one-sentence challenge fics? Harder than they look. Wow. I seem to be going through one of those spells when I can't write anything; within a week, I'll probably be writing nonstop.

4. Target's selling school supplies again. Yeah, their stuff is SO adorable, but why can't they let me live in denial for a little bit longer? (Three more weeks of vacations. Sigh.)

5. The new apartment is unbelievably HUGE. I love it! By comparison, the old apartment looks so tiny that I can't imagine how I lived there for six years. ;)

6. Can't resist more BSG chatter. :) I'm not really a Kara/Lee 'shipper, in the sense of seeing theirs as a Great Romance. I just love writing them because their dynamic is SO fascinating, with all the friendship, angst, competitiveness, anger, and sexual tension. I don't even care whether they become a couple, as long as they stay within each other's orbit. So I've put together a little picspam of my favorite Kara-and-Lee moments. Spoilers through 2.17, and all caps are either mine or promo stills from Dark Thoughts. ( Collapse )

Omigod. It's way too early to be lucid. stars_like_dust kept me up late writing tag-fic that was tons of fun, even if I had to bail on her a few hours before my usual bedtime. The Craigslist furniture folks are coming by in the next few hours to pick up the old stuff, and I'm dragging chrisjournal away from Writercon prep to help with the cleanup. Good to get it over and done with, especially early in the day. But damn. I'm tired. I say now that I'll take a nap later, but of course I won't. ;)

musing_mia and I went to POTC last night. She loved it, but I was utterly bored out of my mind. I even started daydreaming about fic instead of actually watching the movie. Just didn't have the sheer fun and exhilaration of the original -- which is my totally subjective opinion, and I'm sure everyone else would enjoy it!

Out Magazine's cover story with Jamie Bamber is now up on their website (link credit goes to twister10). The photos are great and creative, and the article has some interesting things to say about gay issues on both BSG and TV in general -- definitely worth reading even if you're not into the show. Oh, there is a small spoiler in the very last paragraph of page 3, so that's really easy to avoid.)

ww1614 linked to an interesting NY Times article about TV showrunners getting involved in fandom, spurred by Peter Tolan's (Rescue Me) fiasco on the TWOP boards. They talk to Wing Chun, Ron Moore, Rob Thomas, Ausiello, and many others. Great stuff, even if the producer-types are often just a wee bit myopic at times.

The LA Times wrote about "sausage casing girls" -- women wearing clothes a wee bit (or way too) tight for their body types. God, I wish retailers would go back to the baggier clothing styles, one of the few good things about grunge. ;)

Well, this post has kept me from dozing off, and now Chris and I are off to clean and get rid of furniture. Hope y'all are having a lovely Saturday!

Such a lovely day! A few of the things making me happy this fine afternoon....

-- musing_mia and I have tickets to the 10:15 showing of Pirates of the Caribbean 2! I never quite fangirled the original, but it really was a lot of fun. I'm wildly amused by the publicity shots of Jack Davenport (Steeeeeve!) in full pirate gear. Whoa.

-- I have a huge expanse of wall behind my new sofa, but nothing to put there. Today I went by Hancock's and got two bundles of quilt strips in vaguely boho shades of gold, red, orange, and green. I'm definitely not ready to make an actual quilt, but I think I'll sew a basic checkerboard pattern, with lightweight batting and a red backing. With luck, it'll turn out well enough to hang behind the sofa.

-- I had the bright (?) idea last night to get rid of my old furniture by posting on Craigslist. By this afternoon, I already had almost 50 replies, and I have people lined up to collect it all tomorrow. Was both amused and dismayed to see that most e-mails were from people with only the vaguest grasp of literacy. Sheesh, you'd think they could learn how to put together a sentence. Plus, they all wanted answers right now, and they freely gave me their phone numbers and expected mine in return. Um, NO.

-- I love driving ridiculously fast down the freeway, singing along to CDs at the top of my dreadful voice. I know all the folks in other cars are mocking how insane I look, but whatever. Won't be seeing them again.

-- I'm not particularly into oldskool Doctor Who, but I love how it has such a long, rich history. I especially adore how they've had the same theme song for forty-three years. Pretty impressive for a show that first premiered the night after JFK was assassinated. ;)

-- I hate having to keep really WONDERFUL secrets for certain people who are reading this and know who they are, but this one's so great that I can live with the not-talking-about-it angst. Only one more week to go!

-- I love my little suburb, and how it's trying to turn all upscale and posh while still acting "small town". They're having a free concert and dance on the (new multi-use development) Town Square tomorrow night. That's rather adorable. I also love that living and working in this neighborhood really makes me feel like part of the community, even though Atlanta is such a huge city. I *love* Atlanta, and am giddy that I get to show it off to all the Writercon folks in two weeks!

-- I love these new pics of Katee and Grace at the Peabodys. I kinda love all of Katee's real tattoos, along with the massive fake one Kara will have next season. ;) I'm not really into tattoos in general, but hers are rather charming. ETA: Just made this icon with one of Latte's TVGuide video screencaps. You're welcome to snag it if you want. I'm kinda in love with Kara/Sam; he might not be her Mr. Right, but he's a fabulous Mr. Right Now.

-- I hate that I'm now officially halfway through summer vacation! Must stay in a cheerful frame of mind and enjoy it while it lasts. The nine-week vacation is definitely one of the (few) fabulous perks of being a teacher!

I have cable! And the reason for the delay is utterly *priceless*. The woman in the Charter office had assured me they would come out yesterday; she'd even called the repairman to double check. Well, my old apartment number is 308 (not the real number), and the guy already had a work order for my next-door neighbor at 309... so he thought they were the same apartment, and thus did not complete my work order. IDIOTS! I went in to the office this morning to complain yet again, and the same woman comped me the $20 transfer fee, in addition to all of yesterday's freebies. The repairman -- who didn't seem too bright in person -- showed up about an hour ago. Once he left, I discovered I had internet but no TV. So I had to go in and fix it myself, but now everything's working. Only problem is that they didn't make the requested changes to my channel lineup, and my download speeds are actually slower, instead of the ballyhooed 3mps. Guess I'll have to make yet another call to Charter. *sigh*

Thanks for all the compliments on the new apartment picspam! ( Collapse )

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And, of course, I have *tons* to say about the Emmys nominations. ;)

The most annoying part of Emmys reaction posts is fans shouting, "Omigod, how could they snub [random actor on random show]?!?" Totally understandable in some cases -- Lost was too uneven last season, but I still expected a nomination. Hell, this year's crop is one big ball of WTF. In a sense, that's almost a good thing. Even before the finalists were leaked, I knew my favorites wouldn't stand a chance, so I'm not upset. If the overall list had been excellent, then the industry reaction to my favorites' snubs would've been, "Well, that's a shame, but I guess they just weren't good enough." Instead, the list is so bizarre and random that this year's Emmys have lost a ton of credibility.

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Well. Charter Cable has an office nearby, so I went by there in person today to complain about how they didn't come to set up my cable service yesterday. The very lovely manager accepted blame and comped me half next month's bill, gave me a $20 discount on my service package for six months, and signed me up for the highest-speed 'net service (3mb/s -- ooh) for half-price. Sweet. Except she also assured me someone would come out today to connect me. I told her that I'd be running errands this afternoon, but would definitely be home by 5pm. Well, their "evening" service window was 5pm-8pm... but nobody has come out to connect the cable. GAH! Will definitely be calling them later to complain, though I might just go to the office, since that tends to get better results.

I assume I still have service at the old apartment -- I'm typing this at the new place, and will head over there in a few minutes to post. While stuck here waiting for the cable guys to NOT come, I've entertained myself with rented movies. Something New was a nice, thoughtful romantic drama. I'd been eager to see Dave Chappelle's Block Party because it was directed by Michel Gondry, whom I've adored since Bjork's "Bachelorette" video. The performances and creative energy were great, yeah, but it didn't feel as influenced by Gondry as I'd hoped.

Being mostly cut off from the 'net hasn't been as horrifying as it might've been, though I have no idea what's going on out in the great big world, much less on my flist. Since I can't post cool links or meta here, I'm doing a ( Collapse )

A round of applause to anyone who made it through this ridiculously self-indulgent post. ;) Hopefully I'll have 'net access at home SOON, so I can start posting actual content instead of blathering about the new apartment. I also kinda want to have a housewarming party. chrisjournal was thinking of a get-together for the Atlanta folks who will be helping out with Writercon, and I'd be happy to host it! How does a week from Friday sound to y'all?

Quickie update this time. (I have an unbroken streak of daily posts since 8/04, so heaven forbid I skip a day now!)

-- Let me repeat: chrisjournal and lisalamona are amazing. After a lovely lunch at Atkins Park, we came back to the old place for an hour of clean-up. They were incredibly helpful, and they actually nagged that they wanted to do more! Chris is coming back on Thursday, and by then we should have this place spotless and ready to vacate. Oh, and Lisa? I found the remotes two minutes after you left, and the A/V setup works perfectly. ;) Thanks!

-- Charter sucks. I'd originally set up my cable transfer appointment for yesterday, but their system screwed up and changed it to today. Seemed strange they'd send someone out on the 4th, but whatever. Yet nobody called this morning to let me know when the repair guy would be by, and their office (next to the place where we had lunch) was totally closed. This means I'm without internet access at the new place until they show up, whenever that might be. I'm going to call and yell at them in the morning. In the meantime, I have to haul my laptop over to the old apartment to get online. Grr!

-- Several of y'all asked for Vox invites. Unfortunately, right now I only have "unlimited starter invites", which means you can only set up a profile, neighborhood, and comment on others' accounts -- no posting to your own blog. If you still want one, let me know and I'll try to do them once I have better 'net access. Otherwise, probably best to just wait until I have either standard invites or you find someone else with them.

-- The Fourth of July tends to be "just another day" in my world, but much happiness and fireworks to those of you who do celebrate! I might drive around in search of fireworks later tonight, but I'll probably just watch DVDs, unpack/decorate, and maybe knit or write some fic. :)

Big day! I overslept, of course, but elfgirl was quite understanding -- and utterly fabulous throughout the move. The UHaul van turned out to be perfect for my needs, and we moved all the furniture in four hours. My muscles are surprisingly non-sore, given the workout they got. So now I'm back at the old place, because I won't have cable (and 'net access) until tomorrow. Inconvenient, sure, but at least I'm getting some laundry done too. Tomorrow, lisalamona and chrisjournal have graciously offered to help with the big cleanup -- I have such wonderful friends -- and it looks like I might get everything settled sooner than I planned!

I love the new apartment more and more each time I see it. Understand, I've lived in this one for six years, so changing domiciles is a pretty damn big deal. :) It's 650sf, and the new one is 875sf -- didn't feel like much more at first, but now that the furniture's in, it feels HUGE. It's also quite private: I only share one wall, I have a separate entrance away from the others, and my view is of pine trees. Will have to take photos once everything's sorted out. :)

elfgirl gave me a Vox invite. Though I definitely plan to stay on LiveJournal, I thought I'd try it out. So far, it appears to be like most other blog sites, but it has some interesting features. I've duplicated this post over on my new account, if you want to see what Vox is like.

And of course I have to finish things up with some links. :)

-- "Who's the voice of this generation?" Time compares current popular writers to past greats, and wonders if any of them really capture what it's like to be a young adult in our society.

-- EntWkly has a fabulous interview with the even more fabulous Amy Sedaris. (Must go see Strangers with Candy once the moving is done.)

-- CityofAngel talks to Jane Espenson about her upcoming Galactica episode. No spoilers, folks. I kinda love that her favorite episodes are ones featuring Kara. :)

Wow, I'm exhausted, thanks to a profound lack of sleep this week... and it's only going to get worse. Yup, this afternoon I picked up the keys to my new apartment! It's very quiet and spacious and lovely. I'll still be "living" here until I haul the furniture on Monday, but I'll start taking boxes over tonight. This morning, I met suenix at IKEA for some shopping. I'm thrilled that they had the perfect sofa in stock; might just pay the $50 delivery charge, rather than hauling it back here in the rented van. So yeah, things are working out nicely... except for the part about me being ridiculously tired. :)

Atlanta folks: Sufjan Stevens is coming to the Fox on September 20th! I'll be getting two tickets when they go on sale, so let me know if you'd like to come.

In social news... the SF Chronicle says that more than half of Fortune 500 companies now offer domestic partner benefits. Good for them! (Just wish the rest of society would take a hint.) And Slate debates whether Wal-Mart is good for the American working class. Barbara Ehrenreich is one of the writers, who wrote the fascinating and scary Nickel & Dimed. A must-read for anyone - liberal or conservative - interested in the realities of the working poor.

Filmwise has another COOL "Invisibles Quiz" -- identify the movie by the screencap... with the actors' faces photoshopped out.

And since I'm still caught up in Emmys hysteria, I've created another poll. This one features Gold Derby's list of the unconfirmed but likely finalists for major awards, so skip this if you want to be completely shocked next Thursday! ( Collapse )

1. I bought a bedroom suite today! EEK! I'd spotted the Links Bed at Pier1's website last night, but the site said it wasn't available in my area. For the heck of it, I swung by a store this afternoon to look at sofas, and they did have a queen in stock... so I whipped out my credit card and bought it -- plus the nightstand (bigger than it looks) and the adorable folding bookshelf. It's light and airy enough for a small bedroom, and I like the unusual design. The whole thing was a steal at $450, and I can afford it... but I'm still having that "omigod, I spent so much money!" freakout. ;)

2. Moving update: just reserved a UHaul cargo van to pick up Monday at noon. It's $10 more than the 10' truck, but I suspect much easier to drive. The Target manager said I can come by tomorrow at 8am for free boxes. Also, I just got the IKEA email about their first anniversary sale. They're offering a $30 cart that might be perfect for the new kitchen. Anyone want to meet me there Friday for some shopping?

3. Pop Candy offers 40 Reasons To Love John Cusack.

4. I'm nervous about NBC's deal with YouTube. It's such a fabulous place to find random, obscure clips from my favorite shows, plus old videos I'd forgotten. I don't want that to go away in the name of corporate profits. And while I'm at it, don't miss the unedited version of The Sacred Heart Air Band performing "More Than a Feeling". Oh, Turk. I loooove you.

5. The Onion gives us a heads-up on the latest threat to the American Way: Government to Defend Marriage from Dashing Reginald St. Croix, Esq. (thanks to poisoninjest for the link.)

6. A Reuters article examining why, if 40% of World Cup viewers are female, advertisers insist on marketing stuff to men. Sheesh.

7. I'm tired of the overuse of "frak" in BSG fic. Yeah, it's the show's most common expletive, but the characters do occasionally use other cursewords. More than that, I'm tired of how many fics use it with regards to sex. ( Collapse )

8. Which brings me to yet another Wacky Poll. I'm using euphemisms out of courtesy to anyone who might be reading over your shoulder, but this poll's all about The F-Word, baby. ( Collapse )

Okay. Time to watch some TV, catch up on comments/replies, and ignore all the packing that I should be doing!

ETA: latteaddict just posted screencaps from Katee's new interview at tvguide.com, and the sheer hotness of them has killed me d-e-d. If you've seen the S2 finale, then the pics won't really spoil you -- just don't click on the interview itself. GUH. My girlcrush on her is no longer platonic. ;)

Have I mentioned how much I'm loving the Emmys guessing game? We already know the top ten comedies and eight of the top ten dramas. More intrigue today with the acting finalists, which could prove to be great news for either VM or BSG, but perhaps not both. ( Collapse )

Whew. Okay. Enough of that -- at least, for the time being! I should get back to packing while I watch Rescue Me; I've decided that I'll ignore the Tommy stuff and just keep watching for my beloved Sean Garrity. Speaking... I've decided that I would kill to see Katee Sackhoff and Steven Pasquale in a scene together. Eye candy, sure, but also potentially hilarious. Or her and John Barrowman. Hell, the three of them together. Oooh.

Also, I thought I'd play with the meme floating around today:

Ask me for a fandom-related "top five list". If possible, stick to the shows y'all have seen me talking about recently, because my memory's fickle and I'm not so good with previous fandoms. ;) I'll try to reply when I take a break from packing!