I updated my laptop to Windows 7 over the weekend. ( Sure, Windows is evil, but... )

Crossposted from my Dreamwidth journal. comments at Dreamwidth.

Tags: misc:random

I haven't done that for a while.

( Cut because this got long. )

Okay...I guess that was my day. Now I'm off to burn Simon in effigy on my Samhain fire.

Happy Halloween, all!

Crossposted from my Dreamwidth journal. You can comment here or at Dreamwidth.

Tags: movies:reviews

Looks like things are gearing up over at yuletide. I am determined to sign up this year, especially as I've been lousy about writing new fic lately.

To judge from the 'brainstorming' post, there will be a lot of fandoms I can offer to write. Oddly, the ones I want to request are all books.

I really, really want to request fic for Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series. I just finished the third book and I just love Kate's world. I like the lead character, but she also has a great supporting cast. Most of all I love the way vampires "work" in that 'verse :-)

Others coming to mind right now: Kristine Kathryn Rusch - I love all her original fiction (that I've read) but I'd especially like to see fic for The Fey or the Retrieval Artist series. The Fey is darker than dark - why I love it - and RA is almost like a TV show - not a specific one, I just mean it's structured like that. Makes it easy to read.

Storm Constantine - I'd offer to write Wraeththu but I'd really like to request Burying the Shadow. Again, a very original treatment of vampires...but it's also choc-full of my own kinks.

And the obvious - Guy Gavriel Kay and Anne Bishop's Black Jewels. GGK I'd request Lions of Al Rassan but could write anything. AB...I need to figure out what kind of thing I'd request.

There's a bunch of stuff I could probably offer but am not interested in requesting - any movie on my shelves, a whole lotta books, a bunch of obscure TV shows. We'll see.

Should be fun, anyhow :)

Anyone else signing up this year?

On Sunday I finished the last essay assignment for my first OU course. An odd assignment that - it was supposed to be done under faux-exam-conditions (i.e. timed, and without access to notes or books, though the question was supplied in advance). The doing it from memory part was easy (I don't have a photographic memory but I have a very good one); timing it, however, proved near impossible as in spite of my begging indulgence from family I was constantly interrupted. I think I was a tad ambitious in how much I wanted to get into the essay, too, and ran out of time at the end so my conclusion sucks. Still, hopefully it's good enough and I will mail it off today.

Then I have a break from study until the next course begins in November.

*

I'm a big fan of sushi. That is, the kind of sushi you can buy on the high street and eat with those tiny fake-chopsticks; I've never had a chance to try the real thing.

Over the weekend I was searching for recipe books to see if I could try making my own, and instead I discovered bento. What a fantastic idea! I found a couple of places in the UK that sell bento boxes - and it would be easy enough to improvise one anyhow - so all I need is to figure out how to make the stuff. I can improvise a lot, but there are a few Japanese ingredients I'd want to use and I don't really know anywhere locally that supplies them. It's not exactly Tesco-fayre.

*

Plan for tonight: catch up on the first episodes of Eastwick. gwendolynflight was kind enough to let me know it's safe to watch, but I put it off because I was reading Andrea Dworkin for that essay I mentioned. I figured that level of irony would be a little too much even for me.

Something is burning. No, seriously. On my walk to work I could small smoke the whole way. And it's lighter now so I can see it. But I don't see flames and I haven't heard sirens. I guess it's the fort burning, but I don't know. ETA: Ah, that explains it!

On Supernatural... ( Not a huge spoiler, but cutting just in case - my icon will give you a clue )

Quick movie review for thanatos_kalos because she asked: last night I saw Surrogates. I'm always wary of Bruce Willis movies especially when they require him to, you know, act. But in spite of the characteristically wooden lead, the film was better than I expected. A nice twisty plot, and they'd put some thought into what the social consequences of the tech would be. I liked it.

What's with everyone defending Roman Polanski all of a sudden?

Dominic Lawson in yesterday's Independent wrote one of the best articles I've seen so far on the Roman Polanski debacle. (Warning: content is triggering.)

He has quoted from the original testimony of the 13 year old girl Polanski raped; if anyone thinks there is any excuse for what he did, or any case for leniency, they should read that. I have loved many of his films but the man is scum and in any civilised society would be made to pay for his crime. But we're not all that civilised, are we?

When I read that Polanski had finally been arrested I fucking cheered. The only thing I would question is what the hell took the Swiss so long? It's not like this is the first time he's been there.

Polanski is guilty. He admitted it. That there were, or may have been, irregularities with the proceeding does not change the facts of the case. She was thirteen for crying out loud! Then he fled justice. Now he should be made to face what he has done.

I promised this to krazykipper ages ago. I'm a little late with my baking this year, but as I'm making this tomorrow I figure it's time to share.

This is my recipe for Christmas fruit cake. It's very alcoholic (and therefore expensive to make if you buy the good stuff), but very, very worth it! Best time to make it is early in September, because the secret is to keep adding more alcohol every two weeks until it's time to decorate.

( Very rich fruit cake recipe )

It says something about how stressed I am lately that one new development on SPN completely passed me by until today. I'm speaking of what's happening with Bobby, and I'll spoiler-cut the rest of this for anyone not yet up on S5. But this discussion won't be spoilery for anything but that one character.

( Spoilers for SPN 5.01 and 5.02 )

I'm 99% sure I wasn't hallucinating...but I'd really like to know why there was a 8 foot-high purple handbag outside the Capitol shopping centre this morning.

Wow, my flist is busy this morning!

( In which I have too much to say about SPN 5.01 )

So...on to episode 2...

( ...and slightly less to say about SPN 5.02 )