A Twist of Things to Come

Oh, I have waited too long. *shame* The oldest link in today's Link Salad is First Impressions of THOR (spoiler free). That was posted May seventh. I am going to webmistress hell.

The next one is still fairly timely, thank the Internet Gods. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES shoots and rumors arise! has some interesting leaked pictures and some speculation.

Then, even though right now we are in the grip of Doctor Who's mid-series gap, when Tween Girl's Design for a TARDIS Used in "The Doctor's Wife" was posted, it was quite timely. We salute our young member of the Geek Sisterhood!

Then, the one that took the longest to produce because I am a crap transcriptionist, Leviathan Wakes: A Chat with the Authors. (During which I developed a brain crush on Daniel Abraham and gently teased Ty Franck about his somewhat misleadingly dickish persona. Heh.)

Then, more Batman news and speculation in Breaking Down: The Dark Knight Rises, Part 1 Bane. If that is really Tom Hardy, he's got some SHOULDERS on him, is all I have to say. O_O

Then we had Absolutely the Last Note on Hobbit Casting* in which there is squee for Lee Pace and Stephen Fry and speculation about what role Benedict Cumberbatch might play. I love looking back on this, because I so called it with Smaug. I am smug about Smaug, yes.

Then there was Hollywood's Idea of Geek Girls: Awkward But Gorgeous. We've been over this ground before, but it bears repeating. :)

Some of you will recognize the meat of the next article, since I posted it here first. Fright Night Remake - Unnecessary But Anticipated has much smexy goodness of the David Tennant variety.

Then, in One of Us! One of Us! we have a discussion about how Geekdom attempted to exclude Miss USA, Alyssa Campanella, on the basis of her looks. Prejudice is ugly, and evidently fandom thinks Geek Femmes must be as well. *eyeroll*

Yesterday, I posted one of the articles I am most proud to have on GeekaChicas so far this year. A Novel Approach is a hard, statistical analysis of the Hugo Award in teh Novel category, broken down by gender. This is our contribution to the (ongoing) gender kerfuffle in genre circles. It's written by a very smart woman who is entirely familiar with the concept of scientific and academic rigor. Plus, it has graphs. Bless my geeky soul, I love it.

I have been doing stuff, and not really feeling up to posting.

One of the things I have been doing is transcribing a mondo interview with Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who write as James S. A. Corey. The first book of their new trilogy, LeviathanWakes, is coming out this month from Orbit.

I interviewed them, like, months ago. I had intended to record it via Skype, but they didn't want to be on video. So I recorded the audio and had to transcribe it. I suck at transcription. That is part of why I didn't post for a few days. I was a) transcribing and b)trying to sleep off transcription-induced migraines. :P

So, finishing the transcription of the interview is Thing Eleven. WOOT!

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Thing Ten was a lovely trip to the Hong Kong Market. It is an Asian grocery and collection of Asian food places that bought out the old Wall-Mart building on the West Bank. If you live in New Orleans, the West Bank is like Siberia -- stray too far and you might end up eating your dogs. But really, my oldest's orthodontist is over there. He had an appointment, so we packed everyone up with the intention of going to the Asian market after the appointment.

( Pictures and such below the cut )

Thing Nine wasn't really anything. I was proud of myself for going to gym and for opening up the file to start the transcription, but I ended up with a headache with nausea (which narniadear informs me is a migraine -- I had thought I'd had migraines before, when I was on the pill. Horrible light sensitivity and sort of ripples in my vision, couldn't do anything but lie there and twitch. Those went away when I gave up hormonal birth control for good, but I guess all migraines are not created equal.)

In any case, just getting to spend a little quiet time with my family was so delicious after all that. I couldn't do my bedtime reading with the boys (we're reading LOTR), but the hubby read. I got to sit in the dark and listen, and it was very good. :)

For the LOTR/Hobbit fans, Figwit Lives!

Nightsky takes a look at the recycled non-news Breaking! Breaking! WOMEN DISCOVER SPECULATIVE FICTION!

In response to fandom's recent lost of one of its first female icons, A Tear, Sarah Jane? Elisabeth Sladen 1948-2011

In Mv2.3's final article, we take a look at The Celebrated Pioneer of Electronic Music--And Us.

Finally, Nighsky revisits the Kindle debate with Deep thoughts on ebooks from someone who’s owned a Kindle for nearly four months now.

I just play one on LJ. :P

For my catch-up on the GeekaChicas linkage:

Hexapod Haiku Poetry Contest, from our very own InsectAdvocate, whom some of you may know by her other pseud, Jenny Gardener.

The Beatles as boy band (Or Preteen Girls Vindicated), by Nightsky. Well played, sister!

Also by Nightsky, Mmmm...imaginary coffee.

What's a Spider's Favorite Car? by InsectAdvocate.

A Late Look at Gareth Edwards' Monster Film Debut by Pearce. The title says it all.

Another bug-centric post from InsectAdvocate, What's that Bug?

And last but not least, a post by me, The Flailing Flail of Doctor Who Series Six Flaildom.

Last night I had a chat with my BFF, and she was much more excited about this whole "finished a draft" thing than I am. I think it's probably because I understand how much work it still needs, and am mentally in a space of dealing with the specific issues, while she is far enough back to see the big picture. (Finishing something like this is huge for me -- I know this intellectually-- but it doesn't feel important right now.) I mean, I can foresee a time when I will relax and be pleased with myself, but I'm not sure when I will spontaneously feel like celebrating, is all. I mostly wrestled with worries over word count and the like. (It's too long, isn't it? Will my revisions cut it down, or will I end up cutting it in two? Yadda Yadda)

She kept saying something like, "It's an exciting time to be you!" *grin* I can see where she's coming from with that, but I am not particularly excited to be me at the moment. *shrug*

I dreamed that I was at a party and somehow David Bowie was seated at my table, just across from me. It was awkward. Someone kept telling him that it was an exciting time to be me, and he seemed about to compose a song, sort of like that awful scene in Extras:



But it turned out okay. He was actually very kind, and I thanked him for all his awesome music and got all weepy, but in a good way. Sort of. I'd say it was more like Troy and Levar Burton:



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I talked with my wise reader Saturday night (after attending the Caesar parade and coming home staggering under the weight of the beads I caught - I don't flash, and I have never seen anyone flash at any of the dozens of Mardi Gras parades I've been to). In any case, she liked the ending. I was afraid it was too optimistic -- I had been inclined toward a darker ending at one point -- but she thought it showed the character arc better this way. I hope the story shows Lethe getting stronger, or finding her strength (and choosing to express that strength in non-violent ways, even though, for her, violence is an option). She also expressed tremendous affection for the sisterly relations between Lethe and Selah, which pleased me a lot, and Selah as a vivid 13 year old girl, which made me very happy. I know I've got somethings wrong, but I was glad that the female relationships were solid.

I have little bits of secondary character POVs scattered through the thing, though, and I'm not entirely certain how to deal with them. I'm going to merge two of them into one character, and nix the POV of a third entirely. There is a fourth that I might be able to cut, though it sets up the subplot very nicely. (See, I'm into the nuts and bolts of it, and I like being here. It feels natural -- more natural than the writing did in the first place, half the time. So, I'm hopeful.)

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Another good friend has started writing for GC, and I'm excited about it. She blogs elsewhere as The Insect Advocate, and has written several nonfiction articles as a freelance writer. Also, I enjoy her poetry, which has had some success. I'm rather a fan, actually, and feel a bit unworthy of her stated intention to write something for GC every week as an exercise to keep her hand in. I really have so many wonderful people in my life, who are apparently quite irrationally fond of me. I do not feel deserving of their regard. To be honest, I'm rather in awe of it.

In any case, check out her little snippet, Hexapod Haiku Poetry Contest.

I have not linked to GC articles since before Valentine's Day, evidently. So, Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Then there was Nightsky's Advances in human-technology relations: Naming our GPSes, which really made me smile. I had never thought of naming my GPS, but people do.

Amalia the Savage brought us Lots of Thor! and About All This Mythology: An Open Letter to Storytellers which personally generated quite a discussion onmy personal Facebook page, but not on the site. Go figger.

Which brings me to today, and Jesse's Jesse's Angry "The Middle East" which is a charmingly passionate rant against every single republican, ever. I downgraded an expletive here or there, but pretty much left it. I suspect that he will catch heck for pretty much implying that Republicans are all rich, evil, religious zealots (and possibly that rich is synonymous with evil), but I do understand where he is coming from. Oi.

Here are a couple of Korean cable channel trailers for Sherlock (the first is my favorite, the second is just too cheesy). However, this is a cable channel, I think this a bromance gimmick and not an indicator that Koreans are slash-obsessed.





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In honor of my eldest son's surrealist short story "The Floor is Lava" being up fro publication in his school's literary mag, I give you this:

http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_162_if-everything-was-designed-by-5-year-olds_p2

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I watched Jekyll this week, and thoroughly enjoyed it. (Well, until the something-jumps-out-at-you coda, and the painfully snigger-worthy American accents, but it's still better than 90% of American television.)



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I also posted some Some Awesome Videos by Geek Femmes over at GC.

I missed pimping it by a few days, but there is also Nightsky's 25 years after Challenger which is more than worth a look.

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Still trying to work myself up to making something myself. I want a personality transplant.

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Also, if you haven't friended angrybeige, I sincerely suggest that you do. Her Sherlock comics are totally cracked.

Got behind on my GeekaChicas promotions here.

The oldest one is New Year's Benediction featuring a video I also shared in this space, so I'm not sure whether that one counts as backlog or not. But there you go.

The Batman News has been heating up lately, so next was Jesse's The Dark Knight Rises: Rumor, Leaked Script and Casting News.

Then came Beatrice Blythe's superlative report on The Best Books of the Decade at Tor.com.

Then Jesse shared some favorite videos in Five Great YouTube Vids, followed by his Anne Hathaway Joins The Dark Knight Rises- Purr-fect!

Goddess of All chimed in with an article about Resolutions? and an opportunity to share ours.

A new Chica/ Guest blogger Muse of Dogs and Fur, shared A Personal Tribute to Sargent Shriver.

Today we have Jesse's interview with Romance/Erotica writer Daisy Harris, in Indie Q&A with Daisy Harris, who has some interesting things to say about the nuts and bolts of erotic romantic fiction and the changing marketplace.

I have been very BAD at posting links since, like, Thanksgiving. So, here's a round-up of all the cool articles I have failed to promote in this space. *headdesk*

The first was Happy Harry Potter Day, posted on the day Deathly Hallows part 1 came out, or thereabouts. *headdesk* It has a couple of cool/cute videos with the cast and one obsessed fan. :D

Then there was Harry Potter and the Awesome Fan Experience by the incomparable Beatrice Blythe. It's part review and part fannish observation, but all FUN.

Then there is a video, Geek Parenting 101: How to Talk to Your Kids about Star Wars.

And part of our pre-holiday giving series, $15 gets you $25 at Kiva by Nightsky.

There were the 12 Days of Geekmas, beginning here and continuing here. It's really cute. There's more, too (here, here, and here), but the season has kind of passed. :( My bad.

Just the thing for that Holiday Spirit, Mv2.3's Cthulhu Carols -- Holidays Filled with Love...craft.

Then there's Nightsky's The BLF Knocks One Out of the Park about a particular bit of billboard modification by the Billboard Liberation Front. Awesome!

Then Mv2.3 chimed in with A (Dated) Holiday Exclusive about Merrily Manson, the Marilyn Manson Christmas recording.

Then more of our pre-holiday giving showcase, by Beatrice Blythe, Change the World, Win Awesome Prizes! Focusing on Patrick Rothfuss' Worldbuilders fund raiser for Heifer International.

Amalia the Savage popped up with news about Thor Poster and Teaser in Theaters!. It's getting closer, people!

Pearce then took a look at new film "reboots" in New Films - Hit It and Quit It Already!

In the run up to Christmas, we had Peta Jinnath Andersen with Geek Chic for You Tree - 3 Geeky Christmas Ornaments Everyone Can Make. I tried them with my nieces over the holiday, and fun was had by all. ;)

Then there was the unforgettable Rudolph the Regular Reindeer. Classic!

Jessenovels treated us to more THE DARK KNIGHT RISES NEWS with news, rumor and speculation about the next Batman film, set to film soonish here in New Orleans. :D

Alpha Lyra then shared a fun article all about Chocolate! Yum.

Then Nightsky revisited the ebook debate in Book++. Some really interesting discussion in the comments, too.

Amalia the Savage then shared some Wisdom from the Saga of the Voslungs, which I found really interesting.

Pearce stayed on top of the Movie beat with her review Tron: Eyecandy and Nightsky celebrated the solstice with Sol Invictus.

On Christmas Eve, Mv2.3 treated us to some original fiction with "Slay Ride" - A Christmas Tale.

On New Year's Eve, I posted a compilation of GeekaChicas' Top Ten Articles of 2010. A fun look back and Femme Doctors and other popular articles.

The most recent article is The Doctor Says Hello Christmas, Goodbye Geronimo by Peta Jinnath Andersen. We've had so much fun with Doctor Who this year! :)

motetus gave me five words. If you ask, I'll give you five words I associate with you, to pass the meme along. :)

Geekachicas That's my website, which you can see here. I blather on about it, sometimes a bit too much. I always post links to articles, and often whinge about how it's not going well, or about how ell it's going and how I really don't know how I'm going to top the content next week. But the truth is, it's a labor of love, and a huge blessing in my life. I collect cool people the way a magpie collects shiny things, and this website is my chance to show off my friends' work. It's awesome. Not only is it awesome because of that, but also because of the new cool women whom I've had the opportunity to get to know because of it.


Bruck Chun He's a minor character in the first few Jedi Apprentice novels that I totally co-opted for my fanfic/smut epic, Help Me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, You're My Only Ho (which re-imagines a popular Jedi character as a sex worker - I slay myself. Narf!). Anyway, Bruck is a major part of the subplot. This is probably because I have a thing for the blonds, and this one is actually described as white-haired, and fannon has amended to be dark-skinned, making him something of an anime hero in my head. This is how I drew him for HMOWK:




Writing This is a thing I do, that I can't NOT do. I consider it part of my father's OCD genetic legacy. When I discovered his stash of somewhat cryptic, obsessive journals after his death, I went back and took stock of my own growing stash of filled-up blank books. That's when I decided that, if I was going to be doing it anyway (can't stop) then I might as well try to get good at it. I've taken classes and joined workshops and slaved away trying to produce something that didn't make me want to hurl. While I might not be the best writer ever (or even the best writer I'll ever be), I've recently stopped gagging when I read my output. So that's a start.

Angry Cat My cat always looks pissed off in pictures, possibly because sitting for pictures pisses him off. So I made a Birthday Greeting that has become a tradition here on my LJ. Here is the original Angry Cat photo:



Parenting I'm a parent, but unaccustomed to thinking of it being a verb.;) Most of my parenting involves exposing my kids to great masterpieces of geekdom, ranging from Firefly to Speaker for the Dead. I'm also homeschooling. Last year I used curriculum, but this year I've been making my own as we go. This usually involves letting my son exhaust his interests/pursue his obsessions with some forced learning thrown in around the sides just to keep the subjects that don't interest him as much from falling by the way. So far, so good.