The luminous podcath has recorded a lovely podfic of my XMFC story "Sacrament," i.e. "the one where Charles is a priest." She's done a wonderful job, as always, so this is well worth checking out --
Headed to Scotland, the better to go hiking with the intrepid rheanna27. Will attempt to update fic from small islands off the northern coast. I'm sure that will go well.
First of all, I'm currently posting not one but two XMFC fics:
1) "Appropriate Boundaries", in which Charles has been having serious problems with back cramps in the year and a half since he's been in a wheelchair. His doctor prescribes massage therapy. But when Charles meets his masseur, Erik, in some ways they begin to heal each other. So how do you cross the boundaries between professional touch -- and the personal?
2) "One Last Kiss At The End Of The World," in which Raven gets mixed up in a mutant cult, and Charles infiltrates the group, pretending to be a true believer in the hopes of getting her out. What surprises him is the charisma and uncanny wisdom of the cult's leader, Elisha Ammon -- the emotional power of this isolated group of mutants working to create a home together -- and his powerful connection to Ammon's right-hand man, Erik Lehnsherr. But Ammon's fear of humanity, and of the future, makes him desperate for control ... and when the bond between Charles and Erik can't be contained, Ammon's reaction proves deadly.
(Elisha Ammon is being played by Imaginary Benedict Cumberbatch, who had a window in his schedule.)
These are both being posted as I write; I'll update again when they're done.
Also! I very negligently neglected to inform the world that an absolutely marvelous podfic of my XMFC story "Undone" has been made by the equally marvelous podcath. I am guilty of both neglecting the wonderful podficcer and not sharing her awesomeness with the world, though I think most of you know she's great already. If you haven't heard it already, take a listen!
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Book rec! Those of you who read my journal back in the day will remember my Former Coworker Who Looks Like Michael Vartan But Who Unfortunately For Me, But Not For Him Or His Husband, Is Gay. Well, now I can add, And Is Also An Author. If you would like to read a literary novel about the gay scene in Manhattan and the complicated romances and friendships interwoven within, then may I point you to his novel? Read and enjoy!
Otherwise this year: I went to Spain. I went to Colombia. I bought a house. I moved cross-country. I got mugged. I spent some time in NYC. I finished one book and, while not quite finishing another, expect to get gone by Jan. 3 or so. I bought my mother a chihuahua. Big drama! Next year will hold its own adventures, but I suppose I am hoping for something a bit quieter. At least after I get back from three weeks in Australia.
Now, the joy of Yuletide! My fabulous Yulegoat wrote a "Revenge" story, "The Stony Path," which asks us just how Amanda/Emily began down the road of becoming STONE COLD BADASS, provides some cool fannish answers and quotes the great masters of the art of vengeance, such as Machiavelli and the Corleones. Some others I've read and enjoyed: ( the recsCollapse )
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Festivities beckon tonight, though I'm actually not feeling terrific -- not sick, just really tired. But it's a low key party, they claimed, so we shall see what we shall see. Should get some work done first. Happy New Year to all!
I could very easily just go, "what shayheyredsaid," and that would be accurate enough. And I don't think paying attention to the civility/sanity/good humor that the candidates display during the campaign is a silly or meaningless issue; these are the people who have to build teams and guide people through a whole lot of hard work that's behind the scenes and doesn't get half the glory it deserves. You need civility, sanity and good humor to do that well.
Full disclosure: Naomi Novik is a friend, but I do not personally know Lucy Pearson, Julia Beck or Betsy Rosenblatt. (At least, so far as I know! Fandom being what it is, I may beta for one of these persons unawares.) Also, I am a dues-paying member ... but a new-minted one, as up until now my involvement has consisted of (a) posting my fic at the Archive Of Our Own and (b) nothing else. So I have no insider knowledge informing my opinions. But I think you can often see reasonably well from the gallery.
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The Halloween block party was pretty well awesome, and I met tons of people and confirmed that all my neighbors are deeply wacky. They say home-buying is all about "location, location, location" but I could not in a million years have known I'd land among a group of people who come together, every year, after the party is over, to shoo the children out of the bouncy castles and back home safe, at which time all the adults get in the bouncy castles themselves. I may be suffering from whiplash -- the body is less forgiving of the bouncy castle after 40 -- but it was worth it.
Also: I made popcorn balls for the first time ever. They turned out not to be that difficult, though their creation is a rather sticky affair. Cleanup is really the only challenge. The kids, unused to homemade treats, mostly steered clear of them, but the adults scarfed them down. GO ME.
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I am way behind the bell curve on this one, but: If you have any interest in superhero comics/movies/TV/etc., and you have not yet read Austin Grossman's SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE, waste no more time! It's fantastic superhero meta that also is a great superhero story in its own right. (I hate it when meta is just commentary telling me what to think, the nudge-nudge in joke that has as much to do with smugness as with savvy. This book looks deeply at superhero myths and has some great fun with them, but never at their expense, and always with a deep love for and enjoyment of the genre.) Not only will you guys love the book, but this will also increase the odds of my having someone offering it for yuletide this year! Seriously, check it out.
Hi! I'm not dead! Just recovering from (a) eking out a first draft of a book in far less time than I ought to have reserved for it, (b) a whirlwind trip to NYC and (c) a head cold that refuses to give way, despite today's generous applications of medicine/humidifier/oranges/"Downton Abbey." But I am poking my swollen stuffy head up to talk about this thing I love.
As those of you who frequent alias500 know, I love me some Roman melodrama. Those of you who love it too should now snap up Kate Quinn's MISTRESS OF ROME. The setting is the reign of Domitian; the principals are melancholy, intelligent slave girl Thea, spoiled nouveau-riche senator's wife Lepida Pollia, tormented slave gladiator Arius, uncertain young nobleman Paulinus, and any number of other well-drawn characters from all walks of life, from a dwarf comedian at the Colosseum to Emperor Domitian himself. It contains: political intrigues, all-knowing astrologers, dinner menus for imperial banquets, orgies, battle sequences, forbidden love, Vestal Virgins, sadistic torture, wisecracking kids, whorehouse scenes and a beloved dog. You could not make me love this book more if you dipped it in chocolate.
(Mind you, it's not without flaws: Quinn plays fast and loose with the historical details of even her most fundamental plot points, and her use of totally modernized language is sometimes a bit jarring. And the head-hopping! You may be in first or third person, limited or omniscient, from page to page. But I have to tell you, I could not have cared less about any of this.)
I already have one of my 2011 yuletide picks! Has anyone else read this, to gush with me about it in comments? If not, why not pick up a copy and keep me company? :D
Did you notice, for instance, that my icon is Jack Bristow and Irina Derevko in the Old West? This is due to the wonderments of the brilliant derevko_child, who filled one of my Xmas wishes by making icons and art for two alias500au_bingo stories I wrote, "The Flying Circle Ranch" (aka the Old West) and "The General's Homecoming" (aka Roman Alias.) Go forth and feast your eyes!
But still more holiday fabulousness awaits! For the fantabulous cassi0pei4 made me, I kid you not, awesome "Bleak House" icons, good for all your Dickensian angst/period drama needs! Though, oddly enough for "Bleak House," I think my favorites are the LOLs icons.
Thanks so much to both of you -- this has improved my day, and quite possibly my life. Though I am in the bed with a bruiser of a headache, I'm in the best mood I've been in for a while. :)
In all honesty, I don't have a current overwhelming TV obsession; there are many things I greatly enjoy, but nothing that completely seizes my brain. Not the way "Moonlighting" or "The X-Files" or "Alias" seized my brain, anyway.
That said, I am definitely getting a lot of current inspiration:
Recently Canceled
I was talking with the perceptive rheanna27 about why I'm afire to write "Ugly Betty" now, when I enjoyed the show but didn't touch it, ficwise, for four years. And honestly, it boils down to the fact that I shipped Betty/Daniel so hard that I almost couldn't invest in it further (i.e., let it into my fiction brain) until I knew it was "safe." Well, now it is. And I'm just going to have to burn off all that pent-up fiction energy a little late.
Returning
"Fringe" just keeps getting better and better, and the universe is finally getting big enough, and weird enough, to create room for interesting fic. Basically, when the writers introduced a mirror parallel universe with sexy alternate doubles for all the characters, they were using a defibrillator on fandom. And now it's alive!
Had a wonderful visit with my brother and neffy while they were here, but OTOH, it's time for me to get back to work. And I need some more sleep! We stayed up (with the delightful lilrongal and fam) watching "Arrested Development" and "Doctor Who" until the wee hours last night, which was awesome and yet exhausting.
A Chicago restaurant recommendation for those who might be local: My brother, nephew and I checked out Bolat, an African restaurant on Clark just north of Aldine. The food is SENSATIONAL. Different dishes come from different areas -- a few even include Jamaican fusion -- which means that, while everything on the menu is unlikely to be familiar to an American patron, there's something for virtually every taste. We all sampled each other's appetizers and entrees, and every single thing was delicious. Definitely check this place out.
The wondrous counteragent has put her mad vid skillz to work on the Jack vid of my dreams. If you watched "Alias" at all (and possibly even if you didn't), you are going to love "Everybody Knows." What is the best part? The shot that kicks off Arvin's section? The Will Tippin parts? The ending with Sydney? (Well, of course, it's the ending with Sydney, but the rest is just as frabjous.) Go forth and know the true meaning of joy!
