You Think About Fairy Tales Often?

New favorite picture ever

2009-12-07T19:12:28Z

Pic is by Daniel Carvalho, you can read the story behind it here.

Boosting the signal

2009-12-05T20:53:03Z

Got this link from ficangel, thought it'd be a good idea to pass it around.

Hmm.

2009-12-04T03:14:22Z

Anyone else having a problem with most icons not showing up tonight??

Monthly word count

2009-12-04T02:16:59Z

47360 / 100000 words. 47% done!

Not sure how much I'll get done on this project this month-- working on editing a different book to publish, so . . . we'll see. :-)

Because I think this should be linked to all over the place

2009-11-25T00:37:55Z

The awesome ursulav on publishing, self-publishing, and vanity presses.

Eee

2009-11-24T00:50:45Z

Criminal Minds + Heathers = megawin.

((thanks to the lovely folks over at Criminal Macros.))

Twilight

2009-11-19T17:00:26Z

So, given that the next movie's coming out, thought it might be a good time to finally do a post on the Twilight books.

I'll say up front that I've only read the first one. Stressed out at the time, hadn't had time to read in a while and most of the stuff I had on my to-read list was fairly dark, so I didn't even want to get into it. I got through Twilight in a couple of days, and it was a Fluffy Cotton Candy book-- exactly what I wanted at the time. It was fun; I liked it.

Then, instead of diving right into the next one, I saw that Cleolinda, she of the Awesome Recaps, had talked about them, and so I peeked ahead a little at her reviews.

And things went downhill insanely fast from there.

"Also, Edward is a douche. I mean, obviously he's breaking up with Bella for her own good and lying to her and blah blah emocakes. But now we have to listen to Bella angst for 3,293,487 pages. Don't you ever think about us, Edward? Our suffering?"

Me: *snerk* Oh no, wait . . . does the writer actually pull that insipid 'I'm doing this for your own good because I love you ~~and by insinuation think you're too dumb to make your own decisions so I'll make them for you~~ thing? I hate that crap. But on the other hand, teen romance novel, it's probably going to go for some of the Classic Cliches. Suppose I can deal.

Side note: you should read her whole review if only for the talk about Wuthering Heights because it is so. spot. on.

Anyway, I went on to part three, thinking that if that was the worst of it then I'd go through the books happily with just a bit of eye-rolling.

*sheds sole, dramatic tear at the memory of such innocence*

Because then we get to the stuff with Rosalie's backstory. And with imprinting on the two-year old. And as if those aren't bad enough, we're treated to this:

"His lips crushed mine, stopping my protest. He kissed me angrily, roughly, his other hand gripping tight around the back of my neck, making escape impossible. I shoved against his chest with all my strength, but he didn't even seem to notice. His mouth was soft, despite the anger, his lips molding to mine in a warm, unfamiliar way.

I grabbed at his face, trying to push it away, failing again. He seemed to notice this time, though, and it aggravated him. His lips forced mine open, and I could feel his hot breath in my mouth.

Acting on instinct, I let my hands drop to my side, and shut down. I opened my eyes and didn't fight, didn't feel . . . just waited for him to stop."

And I sit there gaping and it is at this point that my liking for a fun little fluffy book turns into me being epically pissed off.

That charming scene doesn't stop there, either. She hits him for it, injuring her hand, and when her dad gets home and asks what happened Jacob basically brags about what he did and her dad congratulates him.

For kissing his daughter. When she didn't want it.

I am trying to picture how my father would react to such a scenario, and it is not like that. Though honestly, it'd be kinder to have Hypothetical Jackass deal with him than with my mom.

There is no excuse for this shit. I don't care if he's a teenager, he's old enough to know that if a girl tries to struggle away as you kiss her? If she hits you afterward? You did something wrong.

In my opinion, Meyer could've saved that scene. If Bella had hit him and yelled at him, and he had apologized profusely for freaking her out and then left, letting her know that if she ever wanted to come see him, fine, but he'd understand if she didn't and he wouldn't come to her anymore? I would've been okay with it. Because that would've been character growth-- someone doing something idiotic, learning from it, and trying to move on. This? This is just more of the tired "oh, isn't Bella being silly for protesting because OMG Jacob is so HOT and besides, she secretly liked it anyway!" Because of course that comes next, him hanging around until she realizes that she loves him back. I know that is exactly what happens in real life when a young woman is followed by a persistent guy who kisses her when she's giving "back off" signals!

Edward, at the age of 108, sure as hell doesn't have even the flimsy excuse of youthful stupidity to explain the stuff he pulls:

If a guy sneaks into your room repeatedly when you're sleeping, it's a sign of affection. And when he disables your car so you can't see someone he doesn't approve of, that's just hunky dory. Remember, folks, if he isolates you because he loves you, then it's okay!! *HORK*

Team Edward or Team Jacob? How about Team Someone Who Is Not A Stalky, Obsessive Creeper? Seriously, I just want to hand Bella a copy of The Gift of Fear.

And if I seem like I'm piling on this book too much, I don't mean to insinuate that it gives the worst example of a relationship ever and nothing before has ever been this bad!! Because oh, has it ever been this bad.

You have The Graduate-- doesn't matter if she's marrying someone else, she still loves you and you should go get her!

Gone with the Wind-- doesn't matter if she's fighting you, that just means she really wants you!

Countless romantic comedies-- persistence in the face of all obstacles, especially if said 'obstacle' is the woman saying "go away", means that he's really a sweet guy who just wants what's best for her and isn't it funny she can't see that? Don't worry, she will by the end of the movie.

And then there's the somewhat alternate versions of the classics. Wuthering Heights did not end happily for a reason. And yet high school and the time since is filled with talk about how romantic Heathcliff was. Phantom of the Opera falls into this category, too. When I was younger I heard/saw so much about how romantic the Phantom and Christine were; I thought the musical had to be about a girl who finds a wounded man hiding under the opera house where she works and she falls in love with him. And then I found out the real story.

So the problem of the patronizing, distant-- and oftentimes stalkery/violent-- man cast as a romantic hero, either by the original writer or by fans, is definitely not a problem that started with Twilight. It's just the most popular example right now.

I can't even get into the nuttiness of Breaking Dawn and the Birth Scene from Hell, and I don't really need to, because everything about why I will never finish this series and/or recommend it to anyone else has already come to pass by that point. Yes, there are issues in the fourth book that make things even worse (imprinting on an infant, come on, really?) and things that make my Inner Writer want to go off and drink a hell of a lot of tequila (what do you mean Bella becomes the Bestest Vampire Ever with a gorgeous baby who doesn't stay in the cry-all-night stage for long and now she's immortal and flawless and she didn't have to give up anything important for it?)

I wish it had gone a different direction, really. Because there's some stuff in the books that could've worked brilliantly in a horror novel. Edward as a vampire who longed for a normal life and who had tried again and again, in town after town, to find someone to be with? Bella as the latest in a long line of would-be soulmates who gets so caught up in his manipulation that she won't leave, even when her life depends on it, and so Edward ends up responsible for the death of someone he loves because he can't stop himself from thinking 'maybe this time. . .?' That would be an awesome Gothic Horror type novel. I would so pick up a copy. But this? Where you get a relationship that's blatantly compared to Heathcliff and Cathy and then the two leads live happily ever after? Doesn't make any more sense here than such an ending would have in Wuthering Heights.

So it really comes down to the thematic and the personal.

Thematically, I missed consequences. They don't happen in the Twilight universe. Edward treats Bella high-handedly, disables her car, etc. He gets dumped and realizes he needs to change his ways? Nah, she loves him and they end up together forever. Jacob assaults a girl he claims to care for. She never speaks to him again? Nah, she realizes she loves him, too. Bella wants to get turned into a creature that needs blood to survive and can't bear the light of day. She gets exactly that? Nah, she gets to run around the forest gracefully in a cocktail dress and heels hunting animals because of course vampires don't need human blood, silly, and she can go out in the daytime because it's cloudy where she lives and her new awesome family is rich so she can travel and have tons of fun!

And personally, I cannot stand assault and/or stalking-- dangerous and frightening things in real life-- treated as something acceptable or even romantic.

Writer's Block: Book review

2009-11-19T04:41:35Z

What (if any) books would you ban from a high school library? Are there certain subjects that you feel are inappropriate for teenagers regardless of literary merit?

View 1448 Answers

Not a single one, because (say it with me, now!) banning books is wrong.

As for subjects inappropriate for teenagers . . . I don't think there's any inappropriate subject on a general level. When it gets down to individuals, then more refined decisions can be made. Since I'm not sure that makes a ton of sense, an example: say Kaylee got to be 15 or so and really wanted to read It, but I know she's had a phobia of clowns for years. I'm going to warn her that going for that book might not be a great idea. But I'm not going to throw a hissy if I see a copy in the school library.

Likewise, if another parent doesn't want their kid reading certain material, that's largely something for that family to discuss. Depending on the book/circumstances, I might not agree, but hey, the kid'll be 18 soon enough. The parents want to whine about how a book should be banned because of the usual 'OMG think of the children!!!' crap? Then I will get mad.

Information freely available to everyone, and if you don't want to partake, don't. But don't try to tell everybody else that we can't.

Yay!

2009-11-09T15:05:06Z

They're remaking Swiss Family Robinson!

Not really much in the way of details yet, but as long as they either 1) get rid of Roberta's character altogether or 2) at least write her as far less insipid and for pity's sake cut out the brothers acting like she's a fragile delicate twee thing as soon as they discover she's a girl, I will be the happiest camper in the world. ((yes, I know it was made a while back and I try to make some concessions for that, but when it's that obvious? Bleh))

Which reminds me, I need to find a copy of the book for Kaylee and the May Baby.

Okay then.

2009-11-04T04:57:10Z

Progress meter for my current solo project, The Warrior Angel and the Demon Queen. It is a silly cracktastic title to go with a cracktastic and not-so-silly book. ;-)

32800 / 100000 words. 33% done!

Will try to post one of these at the first of every month, and see how it goes.

Working through it

2009-11-04T03:44:35Z

I went off my antidepressants as quickly as possible once I found out I was pregnant. I know logically that this is a good thing. It just doesn't always feel that way.

The thing is, I'm not quite sure what's going on with my brain. Is it some kind of clinical depression? Does run in the family a little. Or is it more of a situational depression, something I can get over by changing my surroundings/mode of thinking/doing something other than drugging myself?

Evidence would seem to suggest the latter. I get out of the house, I go places, I don't get hit by this nasty sense of "you are worthless and everything you've ever tried to accomplish doesn't work out and what do you mean writer, all you are is a dime a dozen self-published idiot who the hell are you kidding you suck". Inner voices. They're fun. Anyway. I've tried to keep track of when it hits. It's most always when I'm at home with Kaylee, and she's in a fussy mood. So I solve this problem by-- getting ready to have another kid. Heh.

I've figured out what the main trigger is, anyway. Been working to avoid that situation. It's kinda difficult at times, because 1) I don't drive (long story short; other people terrify me and that makes me a nervous/bad driver), 2) basically the only friends I have are online. Which translates into time in the house with a fussy baby if I want to socialize with other adults.

Trying to work out ways to fix this. Put in my name as a wannabe-volunteer at the homeless shelter; they're running into problems with opening and so I haven't gotten a callback. Used to be active in the theater, until I got a joyful lesson in the difference between "friends" and "people who put up with you". Small towns. They're also fun. When Chris is at work evening shift, I head over to my parents' house so I can be around other people. That helps.

Writing helps. Haven't been able to do much of that lately. Cowriter busy and my brain won't focus very easily when I'm doing stuff alone. Bouncing around a fanfic idea to help me get through the dry spell-- just a one-shot, nothing I can try to publish, so no pressure involved. Might or might not work. We'll see. Also thinking about posting some of those little wordcount-things in my LJ at least once a month for my main projects. Maybe seeing something laid out in a concrete way like that will be a good encouragement. Or, in the case of not enough progress, a good kick in the rear.

And this was just supposed to be a really short "dumb brain chemistry" grumble. But I do feel better now. As I said, writing helps.

Hmm. Should I do this or not?

2009-10-30T16:27:51Z

Okay, so I've stayed away from the whole Twitter thing in general-- it's enough for me to keep up with my LJ and MySpace and Facebook. Also, the whole 140-character thing doesn't appeal to me a whole lot because I like to babble. But there are an awful lot of people I rather like on Twitter. And I keep seeing posts on my friendslist here with Twitter excerpts that are awesome.

Who am I kidding; I'm going to do it. Anyone already on there, let me know what your ID or whatever is and I'll add you. :-)

ETA: http://twitter.com/allthelivesofme

How long until next payday??

2009-10-28T15:52:22Z

So, got very little gas in the van; but at least we loaded up on groceries a couple of days ago thanks to our good friend the credit card. Which is nice, because payday was yesterday. And after paying bills, guess how much money we've got left?

$3.74.

I'm kinda tempted to spend that on lottery tickets. In the movies, it would work. . .

Writer's Block: Seeing stars

2009-10-27T21:16:05Z

Which character from any film, television show, or book would you most like to take on a date and why?

Submitted By blue_mariposa88

View 2282 Answers

How could I not answer this question? :-)

Book: Harry Dresden. I'm not entirely sure I would make it through the date, what with all the weird creatures/people constantly after the guy, but it sure wouldn't be boring. Plus, Chicago. *hugs hometown*

Film: Kip from The English Patient. I know the main romance of the movie was centered on a different couple, but I always loved Kip and Hana's scenes.
Bonus Nostalgia Pick: Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride. I had the biggest crush on him when I was a little girl.

TV show: Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds. I know Dean from Supernatural seems like a more obvious choice here (*eyeing default icon and layout*) but he's kinda in the same realm as Sawyer to me . . . love him onscreen, in real life the Sarcastic Overly-Flirty Badass thing would get old fast.

:-)

2009-10-25T22:26:32Z

So I run into the rental store to pick something out. Get back out to the car, and there's this:

Chris: "So what'd you find?"
Me: "It's called How to Be a Serial Killer."
Chris: "You do know we're on a watch list now."
Kaylee: *cackles maniacally*
Chris: "And that was your influence."
Me: "Guilty."

Criminal Minds

2009-10-25T15:00:47Z

Just finished watching the 4th season. Am trying very, very hard to be good and not immediately find somewhere to buy the first episode of the 5th just so I can seewhathappensnownownow.

The funny thing is, I didn't even think I liked Hotch that much. LOL I can have the hardest time identifying with Lawful Good type characters, esp. if they're also Very Very Serious. But then I saw C. Thomas Howell's name in the credits for the last episode and so I spent the entire thing freaking out, all "Okay, can they get a break and have his appearance be an interview on TV after his arrest or something?!? I know it's not going to happen that way, fine. But nobody is allowed to die, writers, I so mean it-- hey. Quit following the characters home when the Scary Serial Killer Guy hasn't shown up yet. Bad sign. HEY. Leave Hotch alone; I will come into that screen and Flying Squirrel Tackle you since Morgan isn't there to do it."

Guess I got fond of him after all.

I'm still not really warmed up to Rossi, but after certain episodes in the 4th season I can handle his being there. I don't actively dislike any of the main characters, and that's a big thing for me, since there's usually at least one (JD from Scrubs, Jack from LOST, Eric from That 70s Show . . . and Sam from Supernatural just crossed my Moral Event Horizon line, so he might end up on this list before long. Which reminds me, Amanda, get your fanny down here so we can watch the 4th season and analyze/squee over things.)

Anyway. As long as I'm on the subject of how much this show rocks, I would just like to mention how much I adore how they handled JJ's storyline with the pregnancy/baby. When she said she was pregnant, my heart sank, because I'm used to that being the kiss of death for a character. I was fully expecting her to a) leave the show so she could take care of the baby (because that's what all women do, regardless of how hard they've worked to get to a certain place in their career, right??) or b) stay, but have every storyline of hers devoted completely to the baby from then on.

I think I forgot for a few minutes that I wasn't watching LOST. ;-)

About half a year between their birthdays; that seems good

2009-10-21T00:40:04Z

Went to see the doctor yesterday; she gave us a preliminary due date of May 20. :-) Going back in a couple of weeks and she's going to do a sonogram to see how things are going so far and to "make sure there's just one in there".

Seriously, so many people in our families have made jokes about twins that it's starting to make me paranoid.

Writer's Block: Ohhh, baby

2009-10-20T16:18:20Z

If your best friend asked you OR your partner to help you conceive a child, would you consider it? How do you think it would affect your friendship and your relationship?

Submitted By moho2987

View 972 Answers

Sure.

This one was actually an easy answer, because I've filled out forms to apply to become a surrogate mother before. Apparently PPD is something the agencies don't want to risk having to deal with though, so . . . *shrug* Que sera sera and all that.

Yesterday

2009-10-18T16:27:58Z

Chris and I actually went on a date. :-) It's been close to two years since we've had the opportunity to do that, so . . . yeah.

Mom offered to babysit Kaylee for the day, so we dropped her off about 10:00 and headed to Wichita. We were thinking about stopping for lunch first, but after we stopped at Cocoa Dolce (yay chocolate!!) we saw what time it was and realized we should probably hit the museum first to be in time for the movie there. The museum was called Exploration Place. Great view of the river, and we loved their exhibits (they have a wind tunnel! And a whole bunch of other hands-on stuff; we're definitely going to take Chris's nephews later on and Kaylee's going to be visiting a lot when she's a bit older). The traveling one, which is an exhibit about the animatronics of movie monsters, had a ton of set props in it, including some from Pitch Black-- if they had allowed pictures, I so would've gotten my picture next to that one, because I love that movie way too much. We also went to see a short film in their Cyberdome Theater, which was about prehistoric sea monsters and fossil digs and whatnot; really good.

Then we went to Il Vicino for a late lunch. One of these days when we get a chance to go back I'm going to try one of their sandwiches, honest, but I have a hard time passing up their pizza. And they have the best tiramisu ever.

Anyway, Il Vicino's second building in Wichita is right next to Cocoa Dolce's new location-- then I saw that there's also a Barnes and Noble on the corner, so I told Chris to just head home without me; I was going to pitch a tent in the parking lot. :-)

We got back and Kaylee heard the door open and ran to us, shrieking "Mama! Dada!" Entirely too cute.

Today isn't going to be as much fun-- catching up on laundry and dishes, and trying to rearrange the upstairs so that it's some semblance of neat-- but it'll be nice to have things done.

Yay

2009-10-14T00:13:27Z

Uploaded more character portraits to my website, put up a link to Kath's novel The Sarah Stone, and added a Character Art folder to my Facebook page and proceeded to fill it up.

I hereby label this day productive.

Today

2009-10-12T16:05:22Z

Many thanks to _yggdrasil for posting this! Transform Columbus Day Alliance.

allthelivesofme @ 2009-10-08T17:18:00

2009-10-08T22:19:05Z

Every time I think I've found my favorite essay on Kate Harding's site, a new one comes along.

Glee

2009-10-05T03:08:46Z

Just heard the cast recording of Don't Stop Believin' (thank you, Pandora radio. And yes, I know I'm way behind).

If the show has more performances like this, then clearly I'm going to have to just buy it when it comes out on DVD and have it be my Happymaking Cotton Candy Program.

allthelivesofme @ 2009-09-29T21:08:00

2009-09-30T02:16:33Z

From _yggdrasil ginmar, and others on my friendslist:

So all I have to do is be an artiste, and that gives me a free pass to do anything! I can drug and rape a child, and I'll still get a bunch of actors and directors circling the wagons. Good to know!!

Keeping an eye on that list and feeling sick over it. I mean, Tilda Swinton? Terry Gilliam? Come on, you guys. There's a part of me still hoping that tomorrow I'll wake up and see that list was all a huge badly-planned practical joke. But yeah, figure the odds.

On the good side, Kevin Smith and Greg Grunberg have apparently come out and said that oh by the way, no, they are not going to throw their support behind a child rapist and longtime fugitive. Much love for them. Though how low is the damn bar in this society when it almost seems a revolutionary thing for those guys to speak out against a guy who was 44 when he attacked a 13 year old?

*sigh*

I'm going to go eat more ice cream and pretend I live on Mars or something.

ETA: How much do I love Kate Harding? Thiiiiiiiis much.

ETA 2: No, really. Love.

What do they mean, Limited Batch?

2009-09-29T19:29:52Z

Ben and Jerry's Gingersnap ice cream is my new best friend. *hoards like a particularly obsessive squirrel*