'Bootscreature

dragovianknight @ 5:44pm: Fandom: I'm doin' it wrong
No more fic after I finish with the funhappyprfic exchange on LJ. The stomach aches aren't worth it.

lupie_stardust @ 6:37pm: Ugh.
There are people downstairs excitedly talking about computer games. These people consist of one person who works at Frontier, and two people who intend on applying.

I am so fucking depressed about this, I rather just want to shut myself in my room and cry and do nothing else, like some kind of 21-year-old emo kid. It must be the hair getting to me.

Or it could be the fact that I'm talentless, and no company will touch me, unless it's to say, "Uh, no."

lookingforsigns @ 4:53pm: DONE.

...although I have to admit, I feel a bit weird having nothing to study for. Perhaps I should have a ritual note-burning or something.

*goes to work on fic*

lookingforsigns @ 12:30pm: State of the Seiber
Third and final exam's in an hour and a half, the one that is my entire grade for that class. I cleared the last two, if not perfectly, at least good enough to get a decent grade out of the mess. Passing, for sure.

This one I'm not really worried about, I've done my studying and I know this stuff. My biggest worry is that I haven't been studying the right stuff, but at this point it's probably nothing I can help anyway. The test format seems to be pick three questions out of four sections, each containing three questions each relating to that section--basically, one question per lecture, which means I only had to study three subjects. Discursive psychology I've got down fine, I have a +5 resistance against attribution questions since I did my paper on it, and while I've focused a bit more on crosscultural aspects of self rather than basic aspects of self-schema and social identity theory it'll be enough to get me out of a tight squeeze.

It's rather weird that I'm less tense at the end of the year than I was at the beginning. This is probably a good sign.

raisedbymoogles @ 10:57pm: This could be the maudlin spell taking, but it makes sense.
Okay, look - nobody's gonna hire me. Every time I open a newspaper it's 'global recession' this and 'hiring freeze' that. Having a degree is no guarantee anymore, and I was always at a disadvantage in that department. Hell, experience isn't even that much of a guarantee, and I sure as hell don't have that (though I might if it wasn't for fscking Kramer's little bitchfit - thanks a lot, you tosser). If I keep trying to get into the corporate design world, I'm just banging my head against a wall.

My only other choices are give up and get another part-time gig somewhere - which is only a temporary fix anyway - or go into business for myself. Draw something, write something, and try to sell it. And the thing is? That's what I want to do anyway, but as it is right now I don't know if anything I produce is going to be anywhere near good enough. I feel like I need to level-grind some more. But it's either jump into the boss battle ten levels below where I should be, or go stark raving mad. Which, uh, it's getting close to "too late to stop that train now".

I don't have any clue where to start. I keep going in circles like this - gods all, no freaking wonder I can't get any sleep.

dragovianknight @ 6:42pm: Props where they are due
I am liking the Zen-Aku storyline. But the Predazord looks silly with that alligator sticking out of its chest. Also, the gorilla and bear zords coming to the Rangers' rescue, unsummoned, is something I've always wanted them to do with the more mystically-based zords. But, AFAIK, they didn't lose the gorilla or bear crystals, just the giraffe and elephant, so why the comment about the zords coming to their rescue even without the crystals? It's like the writers don't watch their own show...

Edit: Oh GAWD, please don't tell me we're supposed to believe that German Shepherd puppy is in any way, shape, or form wolf-related.

Edit2: THAT PUPPY IS NO MORE HALF WOLF THAN I AM, COLE! Honestly, if they want a Hollywood wolf, get a malamute like everyone else.

ciceqi @ 6:05pm: concept dream #...oh, I forget + NOSLEEP, writing, bad mama
So this morning, right before my alarm went off, I dreamed I was cooking breakfast for my muses. Only because they were muses, they couldn’t eat normal food, so I had to fry up some symbols for them. No, not symbolically. Symbols. Archetypes and metaphors, mostly; the archetypes were there for nutrition and taste, and the metaphors were the fluffy bits that held it all together. I remember that it was very colorful, and by the time I was done, it looked sort of like an overstuffed omelette/burrito. Yeah.

Also I can't sleep to save my life. Possibly literally, seeing I'm getting less than two hours of sleep most nights, and this has been going on for three weeks or more. Wah. So for dinner tonight I am having the snootiest turkey shepherd's pie I've ever seen. OMG, Zupans, wtf. But there's turkey, so that's a good start! (Considering that sleepytime drugs either don't work on me or work in unexpected ways, I say go with the natural remedy!)

Anyway. Writing! By the 31st there will at least be:

* KH - another bit of Mirrorverse
* VS - another fic for roads_diverged
* FF7 - ditto

More than that I just can't promise (even though I'd really like to have a nice long dated list for you this time around), but if I ever get some sleep, I'll see if I can't also finish that Titus intro fic I comment-teased you on a while back. *hearts* And, y'know, whatever else I can find that needs finishing. Like that Goujun/Konzen fic that needs a sequel/additions made. (My last Saiyuki fic! Waa!) Tooootally dependant on the sleep, man.

Also? One of these days I'll go to Zupans and not focus on how badly I want to get out of there so I can get home and will instead consider the fact that they have pre-sprouted wheatgrass for my cats' dining (and...after-dining) pleasure. OMG, I AM A BAD MAMA. Next time, kitties, I promise....

guiltyred @ 7:25pm: Random icon for a random meme
Tagged by ladyofshadow!

Once you have been tagged, you write a blog with 10 random things, facts, or habits about yourself. At the end, choose 10 people to be tagged. You can't tag a person who has tagged you (but if you want to hit up my, er, other journal, we can play there too).

Hm, I've done this sort of thing so many times before, I'll try not to duplicate any randomness, lol!

1. I own and occasionally use a copy of the "Official Star Trek Cooking Manual". It's a real cookbook, with multi-ethnic recipes. 15 years ago, I saw a copy that had never been used, in a pristine plastic bag. It was for sale -- for $60. (This is a paperback that cost $1.95 when it came out in 1978.) To me, this book is priceless.

2. As a child still in the playpen, I used to rock out to the Beatles.

3. I still own an original "Chipmunks Christmas Album". I don't listen to it. ^_^;;;

4. I'm doll-phobic. My brother got me to watch an episode of "Night Gallery" with him when I was about 6. It was about a killer doll, and it freaked me right the hell out. To this day I get cold sweats around any kind of "girly" doll. (Dollfies and plushies are okay, though.)

*realizes how much these first four date me...changes gears a bit*

5. I'm this close to being OCD, especially about locking the door and turning off the stove. Of course, obsessive/compulsives do make the best proof-readers! ~_^ (ETA - In keeping with this, I just had to go back in and edit the meme instructions to fix a typo that was in the ganked text!)

6. I've driven through a tornadic storm, just missing the funnel by a matter of a few minutes. I had to stop because I couldn't see for the heavy rain, and after I got back on the road...there it was, just done crossing the interstate. This was right before I left Oklahoma -- I'd said to my friends there, "It'll be a shame to leave the state without ever seeing a tornado..." Moral of the story is be damn careful what you wish for!

7. My favorite chocolate is Hershey's Special Dark. I'll eat any kind, and there are a lot of fancy ones I adore but...when all is said and done, that's the one I keep going back to.

8. If I had a stronger stomach, I'd love to be a CSI. (Knowledge of science and chemistry would help with that too.)

9. I collect rocks and feathers.

10. I've seen a unicorn. ^_____^

dragovianknight @ 4:31pm: And in a fine example of "the dragon reflects its rider"
Red Lion really isn't any smarter than Cole.

I love that one of the first things they did was start replacing their existing zords with better zords. Clearly, we have a lot of merchandising to get through. However, I ♥ the bear zords. Pity Red Lion doesn't have the ball bearings to handle them in megazord mode.

"You're nothing but a coward!" "Yeah, but I'm the coward who's kicking your ass, jungle boy!" Lesson to all villains: when you are kicking the hero's ass, don't pause for a flashback. There's time for that after the asskicking.

Flashback: Cole is Harry Potter.

Aaand...Cole's manpain and/or naked torso randomly summons Optimus Primal. Otherwise known as, "We had no idea how to introduce this new zord, so...here it is!" Red Lion, your sorry ass is so replaced.

Hey, it's the Godbird Soulstone...I mean, egg of the soulbird! Aww, the soulbird chick will never know its mother...just like Cole never knew his parents. Let us all have a team moment of sharing Cole's angst while anvils rain from the sky.

Edit: The "frozen" crystals look remarkably like ping-pong balls.

guiltyred @ 5:55pm: Question for my flist
Anybody out there shopping for shoes?

ShoeBuy.com has a deal where, as someone who's shopped there before, I can hook you up with a coupon for $10 off ($50 minimum order) -- and for every three people who use it I can get a new pair of shoes for me.

As of this week, I'm in training to be a news reporter. I've got a nice suit, just...no nice shoes. I have one pair of decent shoes that are absolutely drab (guy's shoes, at that) and another pair that wreck my feet. Everything else I have is just too casual. I want to be ready to take on any assignment, from school sports to the courtroom, and I'd like to really look the part.

ShoeBuy is actually quite good, I'm really happy with what I got from them and their quality of service, so I don't hesitate to rec them to you. I do hesitate to just send out coupons, since that means you'll wind up on a mailing list, so instead I'm asking: anyone want a coupon, which will in turn help me out a bit?

I'm screening comments so you can give me an email addy if you want in.

dragovianknight @ 2:28pm: Red Lion is speaking to me
He says, "Cole, you're kind of a moron."

Yes, I finally have Power Rangers Wild Force downloaded and can watch it. This is, I believe, the non-whitest PR cast ever, and the cynical part of me wonders if that's because of the whole "connected to nature" theme of the series. But surely not.

Noble savage in the big city talks to stray dogs.

You know, I like the bitchy ones, but I'm getting a horrible vibe off Taylor that we will ultimately learn about her Painful Past and then she will Learn the Error of Her Ways and join the Ranger hive mind. Because if children's programming has taught me anything, it's that two people of good conscience can't have a genuine difference of opinion, one of them must be Wrong and Learn Better, or be brainwashed and Learn Better.

When Princess Shayla says, "Welcome to the Animaria," I feel like I'm being welcomed onto a Disney ride. She's very, umm. Bubbleheaded. Chipper.

Oh joy, Cole can sense that the animals are frightened. Noble savage is noble. This show is making Captain Planet* look non-preachy.

I can't believe the zords defeated the monster using the Care Bear Stare. There had better be more asskicking later, because these zords are too awesome to be wasted in such a manner. Even if Red Lion has poor judgment in his choice of Ranger.

*Look, I liked Captain Planet back when Whoopi Goldberg was still voicing Gaia. It's not like my standards are unreasonably high, here.

Edit: "There's no time to contact the other Rangers! Let's try having a meaningful conversation with the monster, instead!"

Red Lion: I was really stoned on catnip when I picked him, guys. I am so sorry.

Edit2: The whole "running around on all fours" thing is never not going to look stupid.

lupie_stardust @ 2:35pm: Doop doop
So, went to town, engaged head on with some of my own fail, successfully (eventually...) signed on for my course at learndirect (oh, did I not tell you about that? I'm doing one of those exceptionally boring computer literacy courses so that I have the qualification on my CV for the companies that want to see INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED CERTIFICATE OF BEING ABLE TO USE MICROSOFT SHITTING WORD rather than "lol I can use word I used it to write essays lol in my degree") annnnnd thennnn I had lunch, profitted the DVD of Re-Animator for £7!! and also got some boring hair stuff and that.

And now my IRC server is b0rked. Nooooooo.

I think I may go back to bed after I've had a cup of tea. Orrrr I could watch a film. There's no jobs at this time of year. Actually no jobs at all. Ugh. Next interview, however, is on the 14th at Addenbrookes - wish me luck, I may actually get this one... AND THEN I'D BE WORKING IN THE NHS AGAIN YAY :D

lupie_stardust @ 10:08am: Hmm!
Okay, scientists on my flist, riddle me this:

I have a big mug of loose leaf tea. When I rotate the mug, the leaves remain stationary. That is, they hold their positions relative to everything else in the room and not the mug.

Why? Is it some kind of science?

By the way, if anyone's in town at about one o'clock, I'm having lunch at JinLing Noodle Bar next to the Kambar on Wheeler Street if anyone would like to join me. :) I'll be the one rotating my cup and frowning.

dragovianknight @ 6:51pm: I hope the standards of the chefs are higher than the standards of the proof readers
From the back of my bottle of Panda Express Mandarin Sauce: "Mandarin Sauce" is made to the high standards demanded by the chef's at Panda Express.

guiltyred @ 7:59pm: Tastycakes
Recently discovered and_cupcakes, and couldn't resist joining in the fun:

Angeal's apple puff pancake

:3

teamromy @ 4:18pm: Irony, it haz me
Seriously ironic:

My Social Thought professor looks like Socrates.

I kid you not! The only thing he needs is a toga and voila!

And he rambles.

If it weren't for his Braden-esque accent and manner of speaking I think I would be doomed.

(This...is crossposted)

lupie_stardust @ 5:21pm: Time to get serious for a second:
Right, so there's a lot in the news about Gaza and Israel (not nearly as much as there could or should be, mind) and my knowledge of the whole affair is embarrassingly piecemeal.

So here's my knowledge of the Israel/Palestine conflict in full:

- Israel wants the Gaza strip. I cannot discern the reason for this. It may be a centuries old thing.

- The Gaza strip is sadly already inhabited by Palestinians. Some conflict happened over the land, as is wont to happen in these cases.

- ...Something about Hamas, a Muslim terrorist organisation who are somewhat anti-Zionist.

- ...And then, Israel started wholehearted dismemberment of the Palestinians on an epic level, civilians included. Like, humanitarian-crisis-inducing flattening.

- ...And then, some guy from Hamas said that they'll start killing Jewish children for all the Palestinian-child-flattening, eye for an eye style.

The whole thing looks totally, incomprehensibly fucked up. My knowledge has 394867982 gaps. Can someone fill me in? Ideally in your own words, because I want to hear what you think.

How on earth can one solve this? I mean, ideally, there'd be a great big flashing sign in the skies overhead saying, "FUCKING STOP ALL RIGHT JESUS CAN'T WE ALL JUST PLAY NICELY" but that's not forthcoming in either a literal or metaphorical sense, and I doubt anyone would listen at this stage, anyway.

All I really know is that tonnes of people are getting killed and injured over there, everything is fucked up, people are starving, and it just... seems to go on and on and on with no real end in sight. Why? All this over land? Really?

sildil, posting in ffvii_100 @ 5:15pm: Prompt #80
Prompt #80
Title: Rude by Name
Team: Turks
Rating: G
Word Count: 100


If ever a name was an inaccurate description of the bearer, it was Rude.  Always polite to the point of hostility, never without his hands gloved in soft leather. His Turk suit knife-pressed and clean, shirt collar and cuffs crisp and white.  Others would mock gently at his spare suits and shirts kept in his locker and ask 'why bother?' His clothes would be ruined again in the next hour, spattered with blood.

He would smile, politely of course.  'Well...you know, I am the last person they'll see...it don't hurt none to make their last breath a good, clean one.'

lupie_stardust @ 3:04pm: WTF BRAIN
Ugghhhh I feel like death today, and I have no idea why! Rubbish. :/

So, readers: it is up to YOU to cure me of what ails me. Entertain me with your frolics! Emily is already in the lead with a video of a parrot and a kitten that made me incoherant with joy.

Oh, oh, I also. My straightners came today! I'm yet to try them out because I'm nervous of CLAMPING THEM ON MY FACE and I don't have any of the relevant conditioning spray to stop my hair burning off, but I'll wash and condition my hair later and give them a go. If you don't hear from me in the next whenever, assume I've burnt off my hands.

I need a good "Uggghhhhhhh" icon. I don't have one. Hm.

teamromy @ 8:03am: *sigh*
You remember that defective banana issue I have? (Wow...that sounds like a euphemism!)

Anyway, still having it. Yes, it's pea-podding every time.

What I don't understand is that we have had five bananas out of the bunch. Zack had one, it opened fine and normal. Kadaj had one, it opened fine and normal. I had three - all defective, all pea-podded, and mushed the top half of the banana in doing so.

Maybe it's my technique?

(this whole post just sounds so wrong! /dirty mind)

raisedbymoogles @ 7:43am: There is something deeply wrong in my head.
I dreamed that Megatron kidnapped Daniel and kept him as a pet. Trained him so well he couldn't go to his grandpa when Sparkplug came to rescue him.

He was not a cruel master. It would've been less disturbing if he was.

yohjideranged, posting in ffvii_100 @ 7:55pm: Prompt #80
Do I really need to tell you that SOLDIER won this round? They won with a whopping 800 points!!  Avalanche tried to reclaim the top spot, but fell short with 200 points.  The Turks didn't have a chance with their 20 points.

Good round, everyone!

This week's prompt is #80 - Rude

What do his coworkers think of him?  What does he think about being partnered with Reno? Is he a neat freak? What's in his pockets? Why is he so quiet? What was he like as a child? Is he really a sunglasses-a-night kind of guy and why? Is the baldness natural or shaved to look more menacing? How does he really feel about his job?

This week, Rude has to be included in the drabble - whether about him, someone talking about him, or an appearance from him - but make that drabble only 100 words.

lookingforsigns @ 10:58pm: Deep, calming breaths...
I suppose I shall have to have my share of Rath's cherry crumble another night. My stomach's gone so tight that I'm wondering if having any dinner at all was a bad idea. My first exam is tomorrow morning, and while it's Biopsychology and the one I'm the least worried about I'm still really nervous about it.

Still, I studied. I know the ionic basis of the action potential and I can tell my pyramidal cells from my purkinje cells. I can do this nonsense.

*goes off and reads some soothing Hogan's Heroes slash before bed to ensure a slightly more relaxed sleep*

lupie_stardust @ 8:37pm: I LOVE THE INTERNET
I've said it once, I'll say it again: the internet is a wonderful thing.

Only today, I have found another fetish I'd never, ever heard of before: parkas. From this piece of erotic fiction (WARNING: NSFW TEXT, CONTAINS GAY AND... PARKAS) linked in my direction by WeepingCock on LJ, the Exceptionally Bad Erotic Fiction Oh God community, which I love.

The author of this particular piece has a website (NSFW if torn parkas are taboo in your line of work), which boasts an image gallery, 7000+ images strong, entitled "PARKA XXX".

Amazing.

ciceqi @ 10:55am: kh: antigravity: sephiroth/riku: worksafe: rough
More of Mirrorverse. Did I mention I'm focusing on finishing things right now?

Sequel to String. Sephiroth knows obsession.

Timeline

Antigravity for samovar
Sephiroth/Riku

( It was strange to find himself inside the belly of a whale, still alive. )