fluffyllama

The root canal wasn't too painful in itself, but I'm tired. This is not terribly surprising since I've had two long days out in a row.

The drilling and injections and things that generally seem to bother people about dentists don't worry me too much, I have way more problems with the discomfort that goes with it. This was 40 minutes or so of my head being low down and very uncomfortable, evil bright lights, jaw jammed open etc. I think I made it nearly halfway through before I got the shakes, which is pretty good for me. Fortunately my dentist is great and she knows when there's an actual problem and when it's just the physical stress kicking in. But heh, I couldn't keep my hand still to hold the um, whatever it's called, in my mouth while they did the x-ray!

In not remotely surprising news, my nephews are adorable but noisy and demanding *g* I spent most of yesterday making up songs about aeroplanes flying around Michael's head. Apparently it's HILARIOUS when they go upside down. Or at least it is when you're not quite one year old. And on wednesday Adam (5 year old nephew) and I made up stories for each other about rockets from Planet Monster (this is where I come from, according to Adam), bouncing cheese and crumbs in space. It sort of made sense at the time? *scratches head*

I want to do more rec posts but my reading has been thrown off. I've done six posts so far, so if I don't get any more done while the fests are still anonymous I suppose it's not too bad. It's the first time in ages I've been able to get any done at all, and I can still do them when they are unanon if necessary. I rec stuff I like whether I know who wrote it or not, but I know some people place more value on appreciation for their work while it's anonymous. I'm looking forward to thanking some exceptionally lovely people myself for the very thoughtful comments they've left on my Christmas fest stories.

We were music-less in the car last night coming home, and Jon needed me to talk to him as much as possible to make sure he stayed wide awake. Normally he sings along to something really loudly *g* Anyway, my rambling turned into Why A Scandal in Belgravia is now my favourite ep of Sherlock. This was a huge surprise to me, since I love A Study in Pink beyond reason. I can understand why for some people there are things that make it unacceptable, last straws and so on, that's fine. I've had similar reactions to things in the past. I recommend not asking me for an opinion on The Walking Dead, for a start. But if your entire argument is that it's simply a crappy piece of TV, with nothing to back it up, then I'm going to think you're a moron, because it was a fucking work of art. I've made notes and will write them up -- I'm not sure how coherent it will be (probably just a bunch of observations) but I have kept some links to interesting posts I've seen I can throw in too. Those might make more sense.

Honestly, if you're not one who had a 'last straw' reaction, but you're not sure why lots of people loved it so much, watch it again. It's not about who loses some clothes (though the lack of them and the overuse of them at different times is interesting), or how pretty everyone is. Count the things we now know or suspect are lies, the misdirections and distractions (the boomerangs to the back of the head), the windows, the boxes, the gaps, the mirrors, the reflections, the dialogue or visual information that can be interpreted in multiple ways. These are the things that make me not just squee, but want to roll around in this episode and do very bad things to it. *lick* Yeah, I had to bring it down to that level in the end.

Um. For fellow Brits or those of you who are addicted to British TV, is it just me ( This is behind a cut because I suspect it's one of those things you won't be able to unsee )

Wow. For the first time ever in a fandom, I'm looking for gen. Not instead of anything else, but alongside it. And okay, this is Sherlock, where gen covers anything up to and including platonic marriage, apparently, but still, I'm reading everything from friendship to filthy, filthy porn. Dark is still best though.

I've never been a gen reader before except by accident or random whim. Do I get a membership card?

I feel like there should be a badge at least.

I can't quite believe it's been five years, but apparently it has - we've just opened the Fifth Anniversary mcshep_match!

A few changes this year, but still teams, still McShep, and hopefully still fun. You can read more in the Official Opening Post, check the Rules and FAQ here and most importantly, go and join in the fun with the warm-up drabble challenge here!



Sign-ups for the fest itself open Friday June 10th!

Oh yes, the middle of sunday night - there's a genius time to post *snorts*

Anyway, not dead, though you could be forgiven for thinking so as I've been as crap as ever at responding to stuff. If you're missing a reply (my Yahoo mail overwhelmed me for a while, so I stopped looking) please feel free to prod me here. I check my LJ inbox at the moment if nothing else, though I will go and delete all the spam in my Yahoo account soon.

I actually have a burning question, if anyone can help. There's a piece of art which a. is apparently not online anywhere despite the artist still having quite a lot up b. is by an artist who hasn't been around LJ at all for the past 5 years and I had no luck in contacting last time I tried (though I am trying again) and c. (the important part, because b. is no reason alone, just the reason I have to ask for advice) I own, as in possess quite legitimately, the original. What kind of use is acceptable in this situation if I can't ask permission? Only a photo to share privately if someone wants to see it? Uploading (fully credited) and locked? Public? I really don't know.

The other art-related thing is I am a student again, part-time. Very part-time, though I'm taking longer than I'm supposed to over most of it so it feels like more! I've been drawing in the garden and have stirrings of inspiration, and that's after only a week, so it seems to be going okay so far. I now have much sympathy with all the fan artists out there though. I know I don't get out to shops much these days, but buying art supplies is expensive.

Aw. I opened the parcel that came through the letterbox expecting to find the watercolour pad that I've been waiting for, only to find they've sent the wrong thing. I'm always ridiculously disappointed when internet shopping lets me down.

Plants are going out on monday, and no, I don't need anything for postage. I appreciate the thought though <3

Today I caught myself rolling my eyes as I scrolled past someone enthusiastically promoting their latest OTP, and I hate that. I'm in no position to judge a complete stranger's reasons for choosing what interests them, and I don't like it when people want to tell everyone what they *should* be writing. I do, however, think it's good to question my own preferences and assumptions when I see people bring up neglected characters/pairings/genres or whatever.

So the questioning is what this is about, though it's about a use of words.

Spoons.

I don't like using the term myself, as it makes me feel labelled sick. (My brain, sometimes it makes no sense.) So maybe I notice it more, I don't know. I think it's great for its original purpose, and I like that people know what it means, and when I see people use it about themselves I assume they have a good reason to do so.

But if your post is along the lines of 'I did a full day of work and omg long hours and overtime too, ran a marathon at lunchtime, cured cancer in my coffee break, and astronaut training tonight was soooo tough and I was going to finish that fic update you're waiting for tonight but I'm sorry I have no spoons left'... then maybe consider that it might not be the most appropriate phrase to use.

Everything is relative, but really. You're allowed to be tired after all that. And needless to say, I'm jealous of the astronaut training. *g*

Not really connected with the LJ issue of the moment, more general time-wasting. I was writing HP fic, got stuck and ended up writing original f/f (don't ask me where it came from, but there's plot so I'm not arguing right now) and now I need a break, so... I'm trying to get this journal usable as I've said I would ages ago, but I have eye-hurty issues. This is the least painful layout I could find but I'm still going to have to change a lot, including the font, to make it pleasant for me to use. I think I've messed up part of it already *g* No, apparently it's intentional that the edit/reply stuff is invisible black on black and I can't change it. Fuck that for a game of soldiers. *changes it*

My main problem right now is the Dreamwidth background red on white parts *fails to come up with a proper name for it*. Is there a way to change the appearance of that I haven't found yet? It only takes a few seconds before the headache starts descending, the red is too much for me really.

ETA: Fixed the site scheme (I looked, but apparently not hard enough!) and it's much less painful now. Phew. Thank you jackandahat.