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Chthoni/yaSlipping the surly bonds of earth... |
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| Nov. 18th, 2009 @ 05:27 pm Living from boxes | |||
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| Thanks everyone for your replies to my last post - seems that rented house furnishing is another Anglo-Scottish difference of which I was previously unaware. That said, our landlord appears to have more of a Scottish attitude. He's living in E-town, so perhaps it's rubbed off on him! I have two rooms at the moment, one of which is piled high with boxes and the other I am sleeping in. At some point I need to a) clear out the cellar so that I can b) move some of the boxes downstairs and c) canabalise the existing bed to make one small enough to fit in my room, then d) unpack all the books... it's going to be a busy few weeks I think! Still need to sort out internet and phone - luckily there is a comfortable pub with wifi about a minutes walk from my front door. I can see myself taking up residence here for much of the next week! | |||
| Nov. 12th, 2009 @ 10:55 pm What is a furnished house? | |||
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Current Mood:
I'm moving house on Saturday (just down the road, to a very cute little house I'll be sharing with a friend). Spent all afternoon packing books and have a fair bit more to do - so of course the logical thing to do when I got tired was to relax with a pizza and a beer. Hey ho. a little boozyI went and had a look round the place last night - I'll need to acquire a bed but pretty much everything else we might want is there. Except for a complete absence of mugs and a scarcity of bowls. Mugs I don't have a problem with - flat-mate-to-be and I have more than enough between us - but I was thinking I might ask the landlord if he'd reimburse us for some bowls. I mean, I don't mind paying for a few, but I don't have a lot of money... Flatmate-to-me said she wouldn't feel comfortable asking for bowls, as in her experience furnished houses didn't come with any kitchen utensils and she was quite surprised there was so much. Personally, I expect if a house is let as furnished it would have everything (well, at least the basics) - when I let my place in Edinburgh the letting agents gave me a long list of what I should provide and it included crockery and cutlery etc. But maybe the conventions are different in Scotland? I'm pretty sure crockery was provided last time I rented in England, but that was almost 20 years ago and for large student houses (privately owned and let on a joint tenancy) so perhaps the expectations were different. Anyone out there have experience of privately rented housing in England, and the expectations thereof. I'm not querying because I want to argue a point with the landlord - I'm just surprised at my friend's assumptions... Of course, moving means being off internet for a while. Not that it'll make much difference, given my recent (in)frequency of posting, but just so you know... | |||
| Nov. 12th, 2009 @ 12:04 am This is where I spent Hallowe'en... | |||
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| ( Click here for pretty pictures ) | |||
| Nov. 9th, 2009 @ 03:48 am *yawn* | |||
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| When does night change to morning? Not quite yet, I hope. | |||
| Sep. 25th, 2009 @ 12:42 am Time - where does it go? | |||
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Current Mood:
Looks like September is going the way of August. So much for not working full time so I have more time to be creative. Instead I'm finding it hard to fit in the time for both my jobs and I feel I never stop working... oldThe last two days I've been staking out Freshers' Fairs for the charity I work for. It was rather sobering to look at the date and realise that when I started Uni and went to my Freshers' Fair, this year's Freshers weren't even born! | |||
| Sep. 3rd, 2009 @ 04:07 pm Spoilers | |||
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Current Mood:
:) amused | |||
| Aug. 31st, 2009 @ 03:19 pm Accents of Darkness | |||
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Current Mood:
Yes, I know I'm almost 2 years late on this. What else is new? thoughtfulI was vaguely aware of The Dark Is Rising film when it came out, but I heard nothing good about it so avoided it. But recently I finally got hold of the Christopher Eccleston Dr Who episodes, and on finding a reference to his role as the Rider in The Dark is Rising, and finding a copy of the DVD in my local library, decided to take the plunge. I don't really want to get into the faults of the adaptation (I've seen plenty of comment around the net, the most amusing of which is this). I found the film reasonably entertaining, and enjoyed the visuals - though if ever a film should have been shot in England by an English director, this was it. At least the Harry Potter books pastiche English stereotypes, so the Hollywood lenses aren't so problematic. The Dark Is Rising film had none of the book's soul, deeply rooted in the rich soil of English myth and landscape. But I was glad of that - it leaves my book-borne images of the story intact, and can regard the film as something separate; some of the names and some of the plot is the same, but the story is not. What I was left pondering - which, given my Lucius Malfoy obsession will come as no surprise - was the role of the Rider and how Christopher Eccleston played the character. I couldn't help thinking how much more menacing Jason Isaacs would have been in the role. Not because of the way CE looked (I thought his costume was awesome, and on playing back without sound to get a few screencaps, his expressions did the job) but because of the way he sounds. One review I saw said that the Rider was as menacing as a case of pink-eye. To me he sounds a bit flat, and I'm not sure whether that's his delivery or his accent. Traditionally, villains tend to be played with upper class accents to underline their power and reduce sympathy from the viewer (Lucius being a prime example) - I'd be curious to know how this comes across to those not from the UK. Can a villain have a northern accent? Guy of Gisborne pulls it off pretty well in the BBC's Robin Hood - though the comparison to the rather camp Sheriff works in his favour. His backstory helps too, I expect - it must be easier to play dark with passion when you're a tortured soul. Whereas the Rider is the embodiment of Darkness (according to the film - it's been so long since I've read the books that I don't remember whether he has more of a story), which is a lot harder to play convincingly. I was left wondering whether the lack of intensity in the delivery was a good thing for the character, symbolising a certain detachment while making his 'Clark Kent' persona potentially creepier because he seems so unthreatening. But for that to work, we need to believe in the menace, and I was left feeling that CE actually felt darker as Doctor Who (possibly because it's more of a shock when someone we expect to be good is harsh). ETA: An example of The Rider's other persona, in one of my favourite scenes from the film, here. On a lighter note, while searching for the Lucius clip I came across this rather amusing video. :) | |||
| Aug. 31st, 2009 @ 02:16 pm This, that and the other | |||
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| No, I didn't get lost in the Dales - just somewhat lost in my head with its anxieties about work and other obligations. I'll try to be a bit more present from here on in. A few things, in no particular order, that have caught my attention recently and not-so-recently: The volume on my work mobile phone goes up to 11. This amused me. One of my daily procrastination tools is Dilbert, and something about yesterday's tickled me more than usual. Luckily the house next door is as empty as the rooms in rest of mine, so hopefully no-one was startled by my peal of laughter. Alex Rider fans (I know there are a few of you out there ;) might be interested in this article about Horowitz's use of foreign villains. I'm looking forward to the hastily-arranged Obliviate 2009 ( ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} hp_uk_meetup) in 5 weeks' time. I'll be there from Saturday afternoon into Sunday, though I haven't booked return travel yet.I was outraged about the US right-wingers slagging off the NHS. If it was the French or Germans or Canadians or pretty much any other civilised country then they'd have a leg to stand on, but any country whose 'health care system' excludes millions of its citizens has no right to criticise others'. And yes, part of my distaste derives from a fear that, in that system I would be rendered unfit for purpose and outside the system - as much as I try to understand American libertarianism and individualism, it's hard to be dispassionate when its implications are so hostile to me. Still, I suppose the whole furore has focused people here on how fortunate we are to have the NHS (flaws and all) compared to some alternatives. Hopefully the Tories will remember this when they next get into power. </politics> The next chapter of Invictus is being written, but slowly. I'm working from home at the moment, and I find everything tends to get muddled up so it's actually harder to block out creative time. | |||
| May. 22nd, 2009 @ 11:11 am Walking | |||
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| I'm off to spend the long weekend walking and singing in the Dales - back on Monday or Tuesday. I'll catch up with springtime_gen responses to reviews (and a few more reviews, and a bit more reading, though that'll take a bit longer) when I get back. | |||
| May. 14th, 2009 @ 01:18 pm Invictus | |||
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| I'm back! Sorting out my internet connection took rather longer than I expected, and I've been frantically busy since then trying to catch up with all sorts of things. One of which was Invictus 18, which you can now read here. A number of lovely people have created some wonderful fanart for Invictus - see the chapter heading for links! | |||
| Apr. 11th, 2009 @ 02:53 pm Bah to BT | |||
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| BT, it appears, has not improved its awareness of shared houses in the ten years since I last had an account with them. My flatmate has moved out. The phone is in his name. To get it put in my name, we had to: -Arrange for disconnection (which killed the internet connection too, of course) -Set up an account in my name and request BT to connect a 'new' line in my name -However, they couldn't allocate the same number that I already had, because it was still 'in use' (as in, I was using it to call them from my house, because they hadn't disconnected it yet). So I had to wait until they'd connected me, then request they change the number back to the old number -This is due to take just over a week. -And then, after I am confident of my phone number, I can set up a Broadband contract. I don't see why they couldn't have set up my account and done the credit checks, then just transferred responsibility for the line from my flatmate to me on a certain day. It's crap like this that made me so glad to embrace cable when I moved into my own place 9 years ago. But times have changed, and a BT line seems to be the best basis for accessing the cheapest call and internet deals now, so I guess I'll just have to put up with them. Even if they have just sent me a bill for 3 months line rental when they said they'd bill me monthly... I hope to be back online in a week or so - in the meantime I'm using the library from time to time. Annoyingly, the library has blocked access to springtime_gen and probably other communities, so don't expect me to see any news posted there. For those who are drumming their fingers waiting for the next installment of Invictus, that I said was imminent a few weeks ago - it's done, betaed and edited; just need to do the formatting and upload. I'll see if I can do that from here next week, but I make no guarantees. :( In the meantime - Happy Easter! | |||
| Mar. 6th, 2009 @ 02:01 am A special moment for all you darkfic fans | |||
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Current Mood:
Certain of my f-list will salivate over this. The rest of you - please move along. gobsmackedPictured: Harry Potter star stripped to the waist and covered in blood after day on set It's Draco, btw. | |||
| Mar. 5th, 2009 @ 11:06 pm Oooh! Shiny new trailer! | |||
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| I love the cool memory-ink-blot resolving into remembered figures effect. Not so keen on the too-brief and tantalising almost-glimpses of things; the almost-subliminal snake is fair enough, but I downloaded the trailer so I could play it r e a l l y s l o w l y to catch the rest. And... ( Fenric was the chest monster all along! ) I'm looking forward to this film, but not quite with the same sense of excitement as previously. I suppose that's partly down to the end of canon - before, the excitement and mystery of unfinished canon infused even the films, particularly as they fed speculation about What JKR Said They Had To Leave In. And of course there's no (or very little) Lucius in this one. ;) Though I'm looking forward to seeing his younger incarnation. Still, I seem to care less this time about the things they get 'wrong', and I'm not sure whether it's because the settled fates and backstories of the characters has now made canon definitive enough to withstand a celluloid misrepresentation, or because I no longer feel the same desire to walk into that magical world so I just don't care as much. But on the other hand, I hope that means I can just sit back and enjoy the ride this time, treating it as unseriously as any remix fanfic should be treated. | |||
| Feb. 26th, 2009 @ 10:12 pm Fun and (HP) games | |||
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| I finally managed to get something sociable going with my housemates - two of them were (to my pleasure and surprise) really keen to try out some of my Harry Potter games, so on Tuesday we inaugurated the Whomping Willow Game. It's as gloriously silly as it looks - I'm looking forward to sharing it with some fellow fans after a few drinks! Another recent acquisition is the new Harry Potter Cluedo (Clue to my transatlantic friends).( And this is my first impression (not having actually played it yet) ) And this is where I need your help. Players can choose one of six characters to play, each of which corresponds to one of the classic Cluedo colours. I'd like to make little models of each of them out of Fimo or Sculpey, but I need to incorporate the colours somehow - and make sure the base of each model is stable enough for easy play. So I started thinking that I could have each character standing on a flat object that represents them somehow. I'm finding it easier to think of such objects for some characters than for others, though. Here's what I have so far - if you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. (The colour corresponding to each character is set by the game.) Hermione - red - Hogwarts, a History Harry - Purple - ... I'm drawing a complete blank, here. What single object, of any colour, could define Harry? A snitch, perhaps - but that doesn't fulfil the purple requirement. Maybe the Deathly Hallows symbol, but I'd rather have a purple-specific object if I could find one. Ron - Yellow - no idea about this one, either. So far I've come up with a crown or a coin, either of which would be too ironic to be respectful to the character. The Quidditch cup, perhaps, but that doesn't feel specific enough and would be difficult to make stable. Broomsticks are the wrong shape. Or I could make it a very orange yellow and give him a Chudley Cannons pennant to stand on. But that feels a little like cheating. Neville - Green - a leaf Luna - White - a bottletop (because of her necklace) or a copy of the Quibbler Ginny - Blue - No idea Answers on a comment, please... ;) I'll post photos when they're done, though I'm not sure how soon that's likely to be. | |||
| Feb. 26th, 2009 @ 12:12 am Harry Potter and Alchemy: Workshop in Edinburgh | |||
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| Were I not busy here on Saturday 7th March, this would have sorely tempted me to come north. As it is, I won't be there. But perhaps some of my Scottish flisters would be interested in this workshop, which is part of Title: Day Workshop: Alchemical Symbolism and Archetypes: Keys to Unlocking the Spiritual Meaning of Harry Potter Facilitator: Dr Geo Trevarthen (some of you will remember her from Accio 08) Date: 7th March 2009 Time: 9.30am for 10am-4.30pm Place: Sanctuary, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL Rating: Well, not having a Time-Turner, I can't comment on this particular event, but having spoken to Geo at Accio, she is very knowledgeable about her subject, and it's fascinating material. She's also a Lucius fan (though not, as far as I know, in fandom unless she's now reading this and laughing) - we had a gleeful conversation in the bowels of the Bodleian Library about how JKR had emasculated him in DH. More details: here | |||
| Feb. 9th, 2009 @ 03:37 pm Never say never... | |||
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Current Mood:
Today I did something I thought I'd never do... and joined a gym. shockedNot sure I could even say why. I've always thought the whole idea was too artificial, and that it was better to integrate exercise into daily life. And I still think that, really, but with the weather and unemployment situation being the way it is, cycling to work isn't happening and I've been feeling very low in energy and getting out of breath in places I shouldn't. And this gym is affordable and 5 minutes walk from where I live. And the membership includes unlimited use of the sauna (and the swimming pool, but I'm less likely to take that one up). Was rather sobering to be weighed - last time I looked I was pushing the high end of the recommended BMI range. Now I'm firmly in the overweight zone. But not for much longer, I hope! PS - To all of you who replied to my post mentioning Invictus: thank-you. I was really amazed (and heart-warmed) by that. (And no, I didn't write that post or this comment to fish!) | |||
| Feb. 4th, 2009 @ 12:33 am Lucius/Hermione | |||
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| 1) If you enjoy Lucius/Hermione, or even if you're not into Lucius/Hermione but you enjoy a well-written Lucius and aren't allergic to het, you owe it to yourself to read Hungry Thirsty Crazy by FlowersBecomeScreens (fbs_fic). Her Lucius is fiercely intelligent, damaged but determined not to be a victim. Her Hermione is her own woman. And her writing is as gorgeous as a naked Malfoy. 2) Signups have started at lm_hgficxchange for the Lucius/Hermione fic exchange. Signups are open until next Tuesday (Feb 10) and fics are due by 17 May for posting from 24 May (the day before my birthday - yay!)3) If anyone out there is still wanting to read Invictus... I have been working on the next chapter - probably another couple of sessions should see it done, though I've also got beta-committments, DIY and CV-writing to fit in. Experience tells me not to try to estimate a posting date, but know that it is on my radar again after I spent most of last year without regular internet access or writing time. | |||
| Jan. 30th, 2009 @ 09:32 pm What a bunch of... | |||
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Current Mood:
Complaining e-mails are down this week, so no work for me in the 'call centre' today. They did, however, offer us a day's work in the warehouse, a chance that I jumped at. Collecting odd job experiences is fun! And now I understand just how parcels can come to be sent out to the wrong people. amusedNot many of my colleagues joined me. I couldn't really understand their objections - perhaps it's something to do with being near the bottom of the economic pecking order as far as office work is concerned, and not wanting to let their self-image take a further knock by sinking to manual work. A year ago, I might have felt the same, but 3 months cleaning in France helped me get over that little hang-up. It was very interesting to observe other Iona volunteers - marketing executives or pastors or academics - struggling with their egos as they stacked shelves and cleaned toilets. But, though I'd want something more mentally stimulating in the long term, my body certainly enjoyed spending the morning moving about and wrapping parcels rather than sitting in front of a screen guzzling tea and biscuits. And we had the radio on, and were treated to this. According to this guy's myspace blog, his little record has been banned from the BBC for being too political. So he's trying to get it into the charts so 'they have to play it'. I'm a bit skeptical about this - it seems the record isn't actually released until March and he's asking for preorders. If he really wanted to get it out there, why not make it a free download rather than making us wait for a month? But I guess it wouldn't hit the official charts, then. Regardless, I'd like to hear the rest of the song. And I'd like to hear it on the BBC - it could be quite cathartic to a lot of people. And it has quite a catchy chorus. ;) That said, encouraging people to vilify financial institutions is rather missing the point. Basing money supply on interest-bearing loans is inherently doomed to failure, and talking about securitisation as if it's just a technical issue is akin to thinking that burning fossil fuels more efficiently will save us from climate change and the vagaries of Russian gas companies. I do feel sorry for the BBC, though. They've taken so much flack about being political that they seem afraid to do anything. But life is political. People accuse the churches of being too political, too - but surely the act of refusing to be 'political' is also political? To ban a song that comments on a major issue of the day (albeit in a very tongue in cheek fashion) is blatant censorship of the arts. But I guess that doesn't count as being political... Oh, and while on the subject of amusing comments on the current financial crisis, which neatly relates to my last public post, check this out. | |||
| Jan. 15th, 2009 @ 09:56 pm Wow | |||
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Current Mood:
Way back in my teenage years, long before I discovered the joys of communal fannish obsession, I revelled in the rarity of being a lone female plane-spotter, having caught the bug after a nerve-racking aborted flight to Canada which made me determined to face my fear by learning exactly how aircraft and aviation worked. amazedBut it was only a couple of years ago that it dawned on me that all the information about how to get out of a floating plane was completely bogus. A nice theory, but it wouldn't happen: planes don't land on water, they disappear off the radar screens in a million fragments. I guess I'm going to have to take that back, now. There's something truly wonderful about watching a major accident from which everyone walks away. To see the media jackals, knowing how much more honed is their instinct for horror, fumbling for words fit for a celebration. Life lives! Though I'm sure once we start getting passenger accounts, the terror will be racked up as far as it can go. Me, I'm looking forward to hearing from the pilot. Can you imagine how terrifying that is, trying to return to the airport (if that's really true: when I learned to fly, the one thing they told us is that if the engine cuts out you can't make it back - though I suppose the height gain and glide ratios are different for passenger jets), then deciding to ditch, knowing that no-one's pulled it off before. I wonder if s/he has seaplane experience, and if it would make any difference? Either way, I'm in awe. | |||
| Jan. 1st, 2009 @ 12:40 am Hail the New, Ye Lads and Lasses! | |||
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Current Mood:
 mellow Sláinte Mhath! | |||