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Nag nag nag
Americans! Did you watch the presidential debates last night? Do you have something to say about them? To say it at the voting booth, in many states you are facing a voter registration deadline TODAY or TOMORROW! No matter what your political opinions, no matter how sick and tired of political rhetoric you may be (and yeah, I am too) -- express ( Read more... ) -
Random thought of the day: is comic fanfic less interesting than angst?
There's a terrific children's book by James Thurber called The Thirteen Clocks, unfortunately now long out of print, which includes among its many wonders a character whose tears turn into jewels. A useful and valuable trait, and one that would make the production of angst fics such a vital contribution to the gross national product that fanfic ( Read more... ) -
A nagging reminder for Americans: REGISTER!!
Hey Americans! I come to nag you! A couple of months ago I posted urging all Americans who read this LJ to register to vote -- well, I'm posting again to nag you once more. OMG! The Return of the Nag!
Why? Two reasons. First, whatever your political convictions, this is an important election! Second, you may or may not be facing a deadline ( Read more... ) -
Fic: Not Die Alone, Chapter 2: Red Flame and Deep Water
Not Die Alone, chapter two -- Red Flame and Deep Water (AU action/adventure with various kinds of mild slash and mild het along the way, especially in later chapters; Mild Adult for violence.) Summary: When Merry leaves the Barrow, he brings with him something more than his sword, something that changes his life forever.
Author's Note: Perhaps ( Read more... ) -
Fic reposting: Not Die Alone 1 - Blade of Westernesse
Author's Note: Nothing really new here yet. This is the first chapter of a projected series; I originally posted it on ff.net well over a year ago, before I had an LJ. I'm reposting this now because Merry would not let me be; chapter two (brand-new!) is going up tomorrow, and, erm, there is absolutely no way in hell it will be understandable ( Read more... ) -
Essay rec: LJ as a medium
Essay rec: double_helix has a fascinating post here on the effect of LJ on fannish communication. Well worth checking out; she considers the effect of the switch from Usenet and mailing lists (technologies which basically filtered content by subject and encouraged threaded discussion) to LJ (a technology which basically filters by person and in which ( Read more... ) -
Mixed metaphor of the day
"Mayer's portrait of Chalabi as someone who sold a fraudulent bill of goods to willing American ears is on target."
From a letter to the New Yorker. Yeah, I know, serious political matter and all that. But I'm distracted because this portrait is apparently in retail, and it's selling things to ears, and it's also on target ( Read more... ) -
Talking won't mend nothing: Sam as an anti-geek
Sam is my favorite character in The Lord of the Rings, and he is also the most difficult to write. I think those two things are related: that is, Sam is lovable for exactly the same reasons that he's hard to capture in language. Let's start with his most obvious quality. Sam is presented to us as a character who thinks with his feelings -- or ( Read more... ) -
OMG OMG OMG squeeeeeee!
*bounces in*
Pepys' diary is available AS AN RSS FEED and you can SEE IT ON YOUR FRIENDS LIST!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*bounces*
Um, that's an on-line edition of the seventeenth-century diary of Samuel Pepys, and, you know, in the middle of all your friends' reports on fannish activities, there's Pepys going through his uncle's papers, and ( Read more... )