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10:47 pm
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On being eaten by a 'new' fandom
New to me, anyway, but otherwise the oldest of the old, because what I've been eaten by recently is the new Star Trek reboot movie. On the whole Trek has not really done it for me, but I've seen a smattering of TOS, all the older movies (I think the last one I saw was the one where they brought together Next Gen and TOS) and quite a number of Next Gen episodes (until we watched B5 and the joys of continuity and lack of Wesley Crusher blew me away). But the new movie definitely did - I came out of the movie bouncing (big red ball of Plot Deviceness notwithstanding) and I think I still blame Smitty because it's all her fault I'm into slash to begin with and when I got home that's what I hopped online to find.
I am aware that the movie has plot holes one could drive a truck through and it could do with fewer dramatic scenes and a bit more of filling in the storyline, but I read the novelisation (hey, it's Alan Dean Foster, which didn't hurt given the number of his books I have on the shelves) which filled in a number of the storyline gaps and have dived into the fanfic with it's scope for adding slews more, melding in original ideas with bits of TOS storyline and so on.
Today I read one I enjoyed so much I wanted to rec it. It's a gen piece, telling the stories of McCoy meeting each of the members of the command team as they come through sick bay after a variety of traumatic events. Each chapter is nicely meaty and in all it's a very good bit of team centric fic. It's still a work in progress with 2-3 more chapters to go, but each chapter stands on it's own.
The People He Sees, by EstelRaca
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08:16 pm
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Hooray in an arg sort of a fashion, with a side order of sigh
At karate this evening Alex was given a grading form, which means he'll be doing his grading to move up to red belt at the end of June. So hooray! It's good to see him doing well at this, and I can see it benefiting him. Last weekend we went to Drusilla's zoo down near Eastbourne, and one of the activities they have for kids is to see how their skills match up against those of various wildlife. Alex demonstrated the ability to stand on one leg for 15 minutes without needing to touch the ground with his other foot - considerably more than I can do. That's karate balancing skills in action. And more patience than I'd give him credit for.
The arg bit is that his friend at karate did not get a form, despite getting his red/white belt earlier than Alex. M has dyspraxia however, which makes it all a lot more challenging. He might not ever make red belt, but he keeps at it. I just hope seeing Alex move on doesn't make him give it up.
The side order of sigh is because Alex got involved ina fight at school today and hit a year R kid (3 years younger than him). The school tells me the fight was over gogos (latest schoolyard craze), Alex says it was because a group of kids was calling him names and... sigh. Oy vey.
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02:33 pm
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Cooking Mama for the DS - have you lost it?
Through an excitingly circuitous route I am told that a copy of Cooking Mama for the DS is being returned to Alex when next we see Rick. The only problem is we don't own a copy of Cooking Mama.
I'm not quite sure where it originated except that it was probably either the filk con or my birthday party. It does not belong to Ellie or the Crooklets (though the latter is where it's coming *from*) but we're not sure who else may have had a DS at either event and conceivably have loaned it to someone. Looby Loo, one enquires of the ravens?
Any thoughts? If we can't find it's original owner then it may gravitate to Ellie as being someone who will enjoy playing it until the actual owner surfaces... Unless a Crooklet wants to reposess it?
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11:11 am
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Socks appeal
Last night I *finally* went over to spend the evening with Gwen and co, eating yummy food, being ignored by the cat, being given a fabulous book on Braiding to support my use of my marudai and succumbing to the fannish explosion in sock knitting by being given a first lesson in knitting (well, first since I was about 11). I knit a little swatch in red wool on sone circular needles just to see how it went and then I went stash diving (ooo - the shiny!) and came up with some wool to make socks for Amy (good plan to start with a relatively quick project so I don't lose my momentum) and some more to make socks for me in beautiful blue and purple variegated colours.
And then I knitted a swatch with the wool for Amy so we could work out what tension I knit at and then Gwen got all shiny with her pattern generator software and did me up a pattern to use to knit Amy some socks. This evening I shall be reckless and cast on my first sock. My aim is to get enough done to be able to make puppy eyes at Gwen at the Swiggle on Saturday so I can be taught how to make a heel, which looks quite arcane.
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02:01 pm
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Ice Cream - a Public Service Announcement
I went for a walk today, lured by the sunny day and a good opportunity to walk and listen to my iPod and at the same time discover where the formerly elusive branch of Ben & Jerry's 'near' my office is (technically it's very near in that if I could just see around a corner I can see it from my desk, but since it's on the other side of the river and I can't walk on water despite what my PR department would have you think I believe it is actually a 10 minute walk away.
But I digress.
I discovered when I got there that tomorrow, Tuesday 21st April, is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's between 1 and 5pm.
So there you, PSA of the day!!! And in time to plan your descent on B&J stores in the UK.
And because I'm a completist it's also Free Cone Day in America, but there it's 12-8pm. So far as I can tell they aren't doing this in Canada - meanies!!!
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01:59 pm
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Watching a developing reader
Being the kind of pushers that we are, Alex is currently reading the Belgariad. Since it's the Easter holidays still we let him stay up til 10.30 the other day because he was finishing book 1 (and I hadn't realised quite how late it was getting because I was reading Tanya Huff's Heart of Valor for the first time and was quite eaten).
The next day he told me that he thought Garion was the one who was going to end up killing Torak. When asked for an explanation he advanced the theory that it was because the story was being told from Garion's POV and that in his experience the POV person tended to be the main hero of the book and thus it followed.
I think we may have had a variant on that discussion a week or two earlier but it's still encouraging. He's not much of a one for analysis and he's slow to connect the dots in there the way I did given I encountered it when I was a teenager so this is a step forwards that pleased me mightily.
Also that he's reading something with a *bit* more depth than Horrid Henry...
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09:54 pm
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I have the BEST friends (part 2)
This ought to have been written back in Fabruary. I've been rather dilatory.
Anythway, this is a picture of a Marudai, a Japanese loom on which one does kumihimo once one has graduated up from those little foam kumihimo wheels that various people have seen me and others using to make (mainly) little braid bracelets. Once upon a time many moons ago Allison Durno posted about using a kumihimo wheel with some pictures of the braids she made, and I thought it all very cool. A while later I bought a wheel and a much longer while later I actually started to use it. And was pretty much hooked from there.
I took it to FilkContinental last year and made many braids and tied them about the writs of many people. It's a perfect craft for doing at a filk being small and self contained and not requiring so much brain that I can't still enjoy the music. Plus people tend to like having bracelets foisted upon them.
When I got home I started doing a bit more research and found out about Marudai and advanced braiding and so on and started slowly lusting after one. But they're not cheap so I didn't move on to buying one.
Come this year's filkcon in the UK I was still braiding away merrily on my wheel and talking to people about kumihimo and marudai and how cool it all was and that I was probably going to buy one soon, and various people started to plot. I think it started with Talis and spread to Tim & Annie and Rika and they looked into the possibility of buying me one for my birthday.
Unfortunately in the available timeframe and combined with the main person in the UK who makes these being ill at the time they couldn't buy one.
So Tim made me one.
How cool is that?
He used wood from one of the prototype of the stool they take on re-enactments with them and 4 arrow shafts to make the marudai itself and some other wood (he told me which kind it was but which I now forget - hopefully he or Annie will add it in comments) they had on hand to make the tama (the bobbins at the bottom of the picture) and it ate up a large chunk of his spare time in the run up to my birthday party/holiday.
On the first night of the holiday we all sat around in the evening and Rika and I were braiding with our wheels and Tim asked me all about it and I burbled at him about kumihimo and marudai and tama and the Proper Equipment and he made all sorts of encouraging noises just as if he'd never heard of it before in his life. This is because he is a ratfink, but I got him back by getting him to make his own first braid on the wheel later in the week. But I digress.
Sunday morning (my actual birthday) they gave me my present, making me sit at the table with my eyes shut and putting it down in front of me for me to work out what it was. I quickly did. Then I squeeee-ed. Later in the week I made my first braid on it which I use as a necklace, and I've done a few since but am waiting to kidnap a good book about braiding from Gwen before I make some more.
Did I mention I have the BEST friends?
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07:55 pm
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Packing Marion
Thanks to everyone who answered the earlier post - I look forward to seeing you all over the weekend and I think we're at quota :-)
Gwen and Joe - we're counting Joe as part of that quota but if he's too ill to come then we'll be fine.
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12:46 pm
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Packing and storing Marion - who's coming to help this weekend?
Following on from Gwen's recent post and some of Marion's we have to get the rest of Marion's stuff packed and into storage this weekend so that the workmen can come and start work on Monday.
I shall be there this weekend with our Mondeo, Rika is expecting to be there but no vehicle of her own. There is limited space in the apartment for people to do the actual packing but we need extra people for carrying boxes and so on out of the apartment and an extra vehicle or two for driving it over to storage, with people to unpack it into said storage in the most efficient fashion. I may get to play live-action-Tetris...
The storage unit is open without any extra fee Saturday 9am-6pm, Sunday 10am-2pm so those are the core times when we need people. There may also be benefit to people who can work longer on Sunday and take some of it away for emergency temporary extra storage. If you're up for that then please say.
The work is scheduled to take 6 weeks and if it takes all of that then we'll need people again on something like 18/19th April to begin the job of unpacking pack into the apartment. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, but I thought it worth mentioning so people can consider penciling it into their calendars.
Can people please say if they will be able to come and help this weekend? Please no comments from people saying they can't - I'm looking for positives here and if you can't then I'll take it as read from the lack of comment.
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10:10 pm
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I have the *BEST* friends (part 1)
This is the birthday cake that my Mum gave me for my 40th birthday. She had my friend Denise Drinkwater make it because Denise is an incredible and fabulous cook and extremely artistic to boot. Denise used the picture that Debbie Phi drew for me to use as an LJ icon as a basis for it, and then enhanced the ensemble with various things that represent me.
There are miniature Oreos in the upper left hand corner to recognise my love of those, a result of spending 4 years living in San Francisco when I was a child.
In the upper right hand corner there is a stained glass picture to signify that one of my hobbies (one I did classes in with Denise for a while) is making stained glass. This is the same bit of stained glass as the one Debbie used when she did me another LJ icon, the one I use when I make posts about doing arty/crafty things.
In the lower right hand corner and hard to see clearly are cheddar cheese Goldfish, proper ones made by Pepperidge Farm. They are another American food obsession. Annie was quite shocked to find they were real Goldfish, not ones made of icing.
Just to their left and then a little further around are two of the lemurs that Denise created in icing - I think there were 5 of them around the side of the cake. I adore ring tailed lemurs - they're beautiful. If you follow this photo through to my Flickr account you can see a close up of one of them.
Between the lemurs is a pile of snowballs. I am well known for my love of snow. Given the tendency in the UK of it to be extremely fleeting, I have been known to go out at 1am to throw snowballs because I know the snow will be gone by morning. Finding people to throw snowbals *at* at that time of the 'day' is rather trickier...
In the lower left hand corner are some jelly sweets shaped like egg and chips. Back before we had kids Phil and I used to attend the Tun (the fannish gathering in London) every month, and for a long time it was just up the street from a fine chippy, where our circle of friends developed the habit of meeting before moving on to the Tun gathering itself. I always had egg and chips there because they knew how to cook eggs properly, with set whites and runny yolks - mmmm. The wait staff got so they didn't need to ask me what I wanted.
I am wearing a purple shirt not only because that's the colour Debbie drew me in, but also because it's my favourite colour. My hair is braided to the side of my head because that's the way I was wearing it at the time Debbie did the picture.
I love my birthday cake and I have the best friends, including my Mum.
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03:23 pm
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Birthday celebrations comment feedback redux
I have a long post about my birthday celebrations but not enough time or mental space to finish it at the moment so instead I'm going to say
I had a fabulous wonderful amazing time celebrating my 40th birthday, both at the party on the day itself and in the week of holidaying with friends that followed.
I have the best friends - thank you all for coming.
Thank you to the people making various birthday plots
Thank you to the Walker-Fairbourne-Koertes for my marudai which is very very cool, particularly because Tim made it for me!
Thank you to Rob & Janet for the chocolate - mmmmm Hotel Chocolat!
Thank you Denise and Mum for the world's most amazing birthday cake, of which I'm sure there will be photos just as soon as I prize them off of Phil's camera.
40 looks to be a good year.
Current Mood:  bouncy
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12:57 am
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I need a geeky icon!
I'm writing this while browsing LJ on my DS Lite. It's very slow and rather clunky, but I am entertained...
Current Mood:  geeky
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01:03 pm
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Yay! More snow!!!
Clearly my plea worked as we now have more snow.
I called Alex's school to see if there was any point in leaving him there and they confirmed there wasn't so Phil and I took the sled and went and picked him up. It was good to get some use out of the sled! Maybe after lunch I'll go sled down the nearby hill even if Alex won't!!! Wheeeeeee
Of course once I've got that out og my system I'll start worrying about if we'll all be able to get to Grantham next weekend.
Current Mood:  happy
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09:22 am
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Poot
Not enough snow. We maxed out at a couple of inches - where's the 5-6 inches of snow I was promised???? I think it was delivered to the wrong address, since Valerie seems to have it. I'm still working from home today and have decided not to send Amy to nursery. There will be building of snowmen and clearing of the front drive.
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11:20 pm
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Exciting adventures on the M25
I had a lovely day today off on the far side of London doing crafts (sewing Alex's Karate school badge onto his Karate suit for the third time (now both on the correct side AND the right way up) and glass painting, while both I and Amy conned Teddy into making waistcoats for our cuddly toys) and then I drove Teddy home.
As I left Teddy's at 5.30 a few flakes fell innocently out of the sky, and when I had phoned Mum to tell her we were on our way (she had Alex this weekend) she mentioned that there was a centimetre already in Gravesend.
Which meant that I wasn't entirely mentally unprepared to be met with enthusiastic snow as I neared Clacket Lane service station. What I was unprepared for was the speed with which it settled on the surface of the gritted M25. Traffic slowed. Really, really slowed. 20 miles an hour, through thick snow, all the way until a few miles before the A2 junction, up some hills steep enough to make forwards progress sometimes less than the speedo said one was doing due to a bit of wheel spin. The occasional bit of skidding, fortunately soon brought under control and everyone was well enough spread out not to cause an accident. White roads where the first indication you were heading a bit too far to the right was when you drove over the ridgy paint at the edge of outer lane. The car on the other side of the M25 that was ON FIRE. O. M. G.!!! The white van that had skidded around and crashed into the central reservation, blocking a lane. The road signs announcing Reduce Speed. Skid Risk. I mean really. NSS??? You don't say.
I very nearly gave up at the Bromley turn off to go to Rick's for the duration, but the thought of trying to drive up the steep hill near the station plus the lack of certainty he would be there kept me driving, worrying in case I was being stupid and scared that the hill up the A2 from the M25 and down the other side to Gravesend would be impossible.
I was vastly relieved when the road surface suddenly reappeared as I neared the A2 junction (either more grit or the advantageous proximity to the river) so driving improved a lot and the hill was not a problem at all. And I had reached the bottom of the hill and most of the way to the Wrotham Road junction before there was a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder (in a snowstorm??? Gosh, I didn't know that was possible) and the snow resumed pouring out of the sky and road conditions rapidly deteriorated. It took me another 10 minutes to get home from where is usually 2 minutes away max.
I got home, got Amy into the house and then had an attack of shakes. Later on I had a hot bath to relax some of the tension out of my shoulders.
I think we'll class that as the least fun I've ever had in a car and move right along to anticipating a snow day tomorrow, not travelling in to London due to excess snow, staying at home, building snowmen and going sledding. The TV weather forecast told Mum we'd get 5-6 inches of snow tonight. We have about an inch now and I'm not taking bets either way. There's enough for me, and I'm not taking the car anywhere!
Current Mood:  still slightly freaked
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09:58 am
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Squirrel terrorist numbers rising - never travel alone!
Nurses in the UK have been advised to always travel in pairs and to make loud noises as they go to protect themselves from these dangerous rodents. Next: the development of special protective wear.
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09:02 am
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Remember to duck!
Oh, maybe that should have been remember to come eat duck. Hmmm.
Anyway, for anyone who didn't spot Steve Mac's post and can still make it or did see the post but isn't aware of timing changes and WHO IS AT LEAST IN THE UK....
Because Smac is in London today doing interviewing there is a plan to meet up this evening and go out for Chinese. There will certainly be duck, though the heathen among you can have other things if you absolutely have to. Marvel at the magnanimity.
The plan is to meet up at 6.30-6.45 outside Haagen Dazs in Leicester Square (the big one at the top of the Square, not the little one in the cinema at the bottom of the Square) before heading into Chinatown.
It would help to have a comment if you are planning to come since that helps us not run away before you arrive.
Current Mood:  hungry
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06:33 am
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Found - a mobile phone
I was looking at the bookcase in our library last night when I found a mobile phone. It's a sort of dark purple fronted Ericsson phone and has a completely flat battery. It could have been there any amount of time though I'm hoping it's not been there too long since it doesn't speak too well for my powers of observation if it's been there for ages.
Anyone who's stayed in our spare room recall losing such a mobile phone?
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10:01 pm
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Ever more tenuous links to the original story
Having just watched the trailer for the upcoming Race to Witch Mountain I can only boggle gently at how far from the original Escape to Witch Mountain this latest 'adaptation' is. It is different enough that I went to check out the movie's website to be sure that it is actually derived from that sourse, but the kids are Tia and Tony so that would be a yes. However it's definitely one of those movies where Disney has taken a few elements and then written an almost entirely different story. On the plus side at least they have the grace to change the name which implies from the outset that they sre not following the original story line, but if they're going to do that then why not go the whole hog and abandon the ties to the book? The trailer gives me the impression that the movie will be fun in it's own right so why bother with the spurious book tie in?
Current Mood:  baffled but entertained
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05:52 pm
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Aaaaaaah - noooo!!!!
Alex is not allowed to be too ill to go to school on the last day of term tomorrow! I only agreed yesterday that I would go out to lunch with colleagues tomorrow, and one of them has already paid for me to do so.
Sigh. Oh well - we'll see how it goes tomorrow morning then. He's currently sitting up in bed in his pyjamas (no argument on putting them on - must be ill) reading a book and eating pizza (but not too ill...).
Current Mood:  distressed
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