Where I sit, I dream for days

YO

Fanime is over!  I wish it lasted longer! IT WAS AWESOME.  By far my favorite part was watching all of the cosplay and hanging out with the 12K cosplay peeps.  ALSO I MET LITTLE KURIBOH (the guy who makes YuGiOh Abridged) and got lots of swag.  

Mostly I wanted to post to say that all of us got out alive, I'm exhausted, and I plan on getting back on the writing boat by this weekend, including a longer write-up about how the con was.  For now though, SLEEPZ.

It occurred to me that I haven't made any indication that I'm alive lately!

-  I've had a surprisingly active life lately! Lots of stuff going on with work (going in for more Adobe training tomorrow, which is delicious for my LinkedIn profile), lots of sewing as I prepare for Fanime, biking around everywhere, reading books, baking, ADVENTURES.

- Recent ADVENTURES include Half Moon Bay three weeks ago with Fyre, Kol's birthday celebration in San Francisco two weeks ago, the Alameda Antique Faire last Sunday (got myself two papasan chairs for $60 total!).  I'm kinda maxed out on adventures for now, except I'm going back up to San Francisco tomorrow for training XD XD XD  THEN I WILL LOCK MYSELF IN MY APARTMENT ALL WEEKEND FOR SEWING though I'm making good time on my Musubi outfit, so I'm not that concerned.

-  On a huge science-lecture kick lately.  Been trolling YouTube and TED Talks for interesting videos and inspiration.  Lemme share my favorite two: 

Contemplate the Universe Inside You - from 8Tracks, and there are two sequels to it so far. These mixes are ~5 minute chunks of dialogues from Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Richard Dawkins, and others of the like.  Usually I listen to at least one of these a day - it inspires me towards learning more every day and reaffirming my faith (or non-faith) with the reassurance that greater minds than mine can articulate how I feel about the universe and our place in it.  

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Stephen Colbert at Montclair State University - Hilarious, as you would imagine, but I really enjoy how passionate Tyson is about astrophysics and the advancement of science literacy. 

SEND ME ANY SPACE/PSYCHOLOGY/SCIENCE TALKS THAT YOU THINK ARE AWESOME :D 

- Dabbling on a few fics, but too much of a squirrel-brain to really focus on any one story for more than five minutes D:   However, I am happy that I finally started a story that I wanted to write for my dad - when I was 11 or 12, he used to pay me to take his hand-written novel pages and type them up in Word.  One of his favorite stories was about a female POW and her escape from jail, so I want to surprise him for Father's Day by writing him a story based on that character.  I can't really write a gritty POW tale without cursing and other gritty things, so I hope the story doesn't traumatize him knowing his only daughter wrote it, but I think he can survive.  After all, my brother is in a band named after a porno and he hasn't been kicked out of the house yet.

- Saw the Avengers last weekend, as did most of nerd America it seems.  It was definitely the funniest shit I've seen in a while.  Of course it was problematic - the biggest problem I had personally was a singular line out of Thor's mouth on the SHIELD helicarrier, and also a 'too soon' sort of reaction with the final action sequence - but other than that, it was shockingly well done for a superhero clusterfuck of a film.  Hulk, Black Widow, and Loki all stole the show without a doubt in the world.  I don't know what everyone else's taste is, but Mark Ruffalo blew me away with how hot he is, PLUS HE IS A VEGETARIAN so yeah, there is my perfect man :<

Black Panther, Ant-Man, and Wasp next time plz :< 

Have some Kingdom derpitude:

 

( Paris Indigo: shirtless and in sheer MC Hammer pants )

 

It's time again for

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY PROMPT FESTIVAL

in which you guys give me fluffy, romantic, bromancy, or otherwise adoraboo prompts and I will write you a fic for them! 

(For an example of how this works, I did a number of drabbles last year for Valentine's Day which could be found here:  http://impersona.dreamwidth.org/31699.html  )

A FEW SIMPLE RULES:

1. Gifts will be 100-300 word drabbles, more depending on how inspired I get.  If you look through last year's stories I got pretty damn inspired at times.

2.  Fair game - any RPGs we are in or any fandoms you know for a fact that I enjoy or am at least knowledgeable about. 
      2a.  Unconventional pairings are AWESOME, if you ever wanted to see Taka and Shun out on a date or something.  Could also just mean strange gen match-ups, like Endymion and Rubeus out cruising for chicks.
     2b.  AUs and crossovers are AWESOME.  Deon and Mara could totally be leads in Battleship AU.

3. I aim to have these done by the end of February.  If for any reason I am unable to complete your challenge (which there is a chance of, as I am in the middle of moving and also taking a vacation in a week), then I will at the very least give you a pleasing fan soundtrack pertaining to the pairing/situation. 

4.  Please provide at least 3 prompts!  Feel free to get as specific as you like too, and if you feel like you must point out squicks I should avoid, please do so. 

HAVE AT YOU

I don't really have the mental power for a post about what I've been up to (there is a lot of anxiety in Chateau le Sage mindspace now), so instead I will do a

SHIT I WATCH ON NETFLIX!

post.

( Including Cosmos, Avengers, Vandread, Sherlock Holmes )

Happy to have my Yuletide completely done.  Thanks to Pixie and Ingrid again for beta-fishing it and enduring my freakout!

The rest of the night will include a walk through Santana Row, picking up some flour and butter, BAKING SOMETHING WARM AND CHOCOLATEY, and possibly some easy knitting.  I have Kol's apron left to make (her Christmas gift :D ) and I'll do that tomorrow.  

Tomorrow I am going to possibly go see Sherlock Holmes - Game of Shadows.  I also just want to marathon a pile of movies I haven't gotten to yet, including the Casey Jones movie, and possibly Captain America.  I need to find a new anime to watch, or maybe an old one to re-watch.  It's getting to be that time of year when I re-watch Twelve Kingdoms and reread those books.  On Netflix, I've been tempted by the shows Day Break, Teen Wolf, and The Cape, so I'll have to give an episode of each a shot eventually. 

I'm not taking a lot of vacation time off of work this week, but I will be spending my time fixing some reporting up for the new year and forming a 2012 career plan.  I never, ever want to be in the same employment situation I was in for the first half of this year, and that involves being proactive and establishing/attaining new career related goals.  I have to turn my anxiety and paranoia into something more productive. 

Anyways, HAPPY FESTIVUS.  May you be merry and full of lots of calories this year!

OKAY LOTS OF THINGS HAVE BEEN HAPPENING AAAAAH

Most importantly, my parents were in San Francisco for the weekend, and I went up to hang with them!  And super most importantly, I GOT TO SEE THE NUTCRACKER BALLET.  A+++++++  I WANNA BE A BALLERINA . IT WAS ALL SO PRETTY.  ALSO - IT HAD A DANCING BEAR AND IT WAS ADORABLE (not a live one, but still).  Then today was all about wandering SF on foot - up to Fisherman's Wharf, then down through North Beach, Chinatown, and Union Square.  It was really a lovely walk.  I hadn't had the chance to really wander the nitty gritty of SF's streets, and this was a good first-shot at it.  Hopefully I can return in a few weeks and find a place to write/knit/art!

Anyways this week is going to be a mess.  I have to get grinding on my Yuletide - I got all of the outlining and character notes done, I just have to write the friggin thing.  I'm sure I'll have something done by the deadline, but I know that as I work on it more and more, I'll fall into a spiral of despair and perfectionism.  Plus I have to get a pile of gifts mailed out and sorted out XD  I'm nearly done, I just have one or two more gift cards to get before I'm set.

....I was wondering what happened to all of my icons here, and then realized that I let my paid account lapse. WUPS.  Will get on that this week.

Also, on the Fanime front - I'm definitely making a Musubi costume for this year - Musubi being a character from the anime Sekirei.  I am aiming to get a second Taiki costume done this year too - an outfit based on the American cover of the second novel.  I am going to wait until I'm able to go to Mood's in NYC before I start making stuff - I am hoping to find some really awesome accent fabric, like a really pretty pale pink print for Musubi's obi or a bold print for Taiki's robe hem, and then finish the outfits from there.  (Also, sometime this week I'll be getting these boots for the Musubi costume...though I'm sure I'll be wearing them a lot more often than just at Fanime XD )

ALSO!!!

My tickets for the East Coast Visit are bought and set! I'll be on the east coast from the 18th to the 28th!  HURRAY.

Also I made another playlist at 8track - http://8tracks.com/impersona/still-i-adore-the-taste-of-rain

OKAY SLEEP THING.

DEAR ILLUSTRIOUS WRITER OF YULETIDE FIC:

First of all, thank you very much! I have no idea if this is your first year of Yuletide or your billionth, but thank you for the time, effort, creativity, blood, sweat, and various other bodily fluids spent going into my request. This is my first year doing Yuletide, so I'm a mixture of nervous and excited, and really charged up for the chance to write a fic for someone who shares a fandom interest with me. I have spent the last few years admiring my friends who have participated in Yuletide and put a lot of their spirit into it, and so I know you are doing a tough thing, but I'm really thankful for it.

As for my wishlist, even if you don't read the specifics of my fandom requests, you should know three things that can make fics really, really enjoyable for me, no matter what the fandom:

1) A revelation about a character's personality, motivations, or inner demons that wasn't obvious before.
2) Lulz. I love the lulz and I love puns and I love corn and camp and satire and witty lines and sarcastic lines and crass humor. Anything that would give you a chuckle, I'll probably laugh at too.
3) A WTF moment that jumps up and slaps me in the face. I love to be surprised, and if not also baffled and screaming at the computer "OH NO HE DIDN'T".

Most of all, I implore you to have fun! If you have an idea that I don't specifically mention, but you feel would be really awesome or excellent to explore, do it! So long as it doesn't hit any triggers with me, I'm totally fascinated by ANYTHING that is written up for any of these fandoms. And passion in writing shows, and more than anything else I want you to really love what you create in December.

( Wishlist by Fandom: Juuni Kokki, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, and Moribito )

Thank you again! 

THE ALMIGHTY PROJECT RUNWAY GRIEVANCES THREAD.

There are one condition to this thread: Please don't spoil the winner of the finale until tomorrow, just to be safe.

Here's some questions to get us going:

(1) What would you consider the greatest injustice in this season?

(2) If you could affect the outcome of ONE of the challenges, which one would you have changed?

(3) Out of all of the fucking dumbass challenges this season, which was the most fucking dumbass?

(4) Who were you rooting for this season?

(5) Which outfits can you think of, purely from memory, that actually impressed you?  No cheating and looking at pictures.

( Some of my grievances, including bitching about Anya and pee-pads )

God dammit and we have the Project Runway All-Stars season coming up next :< :< :< At least we know we are getting good designers, AT THE VERY LEAST. I have no idea if I'll be watching Project Accessory.

Here is a reminder of what this show used to be:

Why I love talking to Fly on GTalk:

Sage: cause you are a skank <3 

just embrace what you are 

Fly: *KILLS SELF* 

Sage: :D 

Fly: FFFFFFFFFFF PAPERCUT 

Sage: ROFL THAT IS HOW YOU TRY TO KILL YOURSELF? 

Fly: >.< 

You shush. Lol.