snarking_boojum

taste_buds
Holidays provide a built-in excuse for indulgent entertaining. This all-purpose foodie community covers everything from homemade hangover cures to dinner party menus. Need quick advice? Get five-minute snack suggestions, low-fat ingredient substitutes, and even measurement conversions. Delicious recipes garnished with humorous advice. Yum.

naturesbeauty
Always on the lookout for compelling images, we were delighted to discover this flourishing community of artists who share a love of nature. Honoring the subject with photographs, paintings, sketches, prose, poetry, and other creative works, you'll be simultaneously riveted to your monitor and inspired to run helter skelter towards the nearest wooded dale.

Monday Maunderings. This is a continuation from last week's scene. And, go:

She delved in and found all sorts of thoughts skittering around in there, things like love you and ohholyshit and panic lurking in the background. A flashback of West breaking in tried to pounce, and she paused. "Open your eyes," she commanded, and he did, and she yanked the flashback out and sent it flying away before fastening her teeth into his throat once more.

He bucked against her once before easing down again. She went back into his head and heard I'm sorry I didn't mean and I totally deserve this.

Hovering over it all, in bright neon red, was a death wish. Please just please finish it oh god please...

That, more than anything, made her disengage and lick the wounds closed. She'd bitten so deeply that her incisors had left cuts as well, and she'd taken a lot of his blood, more than usual. She released his wrists and collapsed beside him. "Oh, puppy."

The shakes had him, and she pulled him into herself. He exhaled hard. "Feel better, babe?"

She did, actually. "Aye. Are you all right?" She finger-combed his hair out of his eyes. "Did I hurt you?"

"Not much. Little dizzy. I'm okay."

She raised up on one elbow. "No you're not. You're less okay than I am."

He gave her that not-smile. "That's a given, Ange. I'll always be less okay than you."

Comments are ♥♥♥.

And time for the Weekly Word Count!

Last week's word count: 129,118
This week's word count: 132,044
Word count for the week: 2,926

*squints*

Not bad. Although I really should be working on the Ghost Ship story. *smacks Antubis*

Went birdwatching this morning; going out again this afternoon. Spoonbills and night herons and osprey and ducks and stilts and all kinds of other stuff, oh my.

Highlight so far has been watching a great blue heron attempt to eat an absolutely enormous fish before finally giving up and flying away. And that was right here in the campground. Hee.

Yes, I got pictures. What do you take me for?

And this time I might actually post them.

No way am I catching up with my flist. Seriously, not happening. Sorry. Anything important happening, link me to it...

A friend sent me an e-mail asking for a complete listing of my jump-start-the-heart songs for the morning. Since I'm always looking around for them anyway, I thought I'd put them into one post and then add the link to my sidebar. That way I can get them whenever I want to. With the magic of the infinitely malleable document that is the Internet, I can add or subtract from the list as my tastes change.

"And She Was," Talking Heads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgSVTdAtNYE
"Peanuts Theme Song," http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbiYFA0-8mU
"I Melt With You," Modern English, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuN6gs0AJls
"I Want Candy," Bow Wow Wow, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMICD3aMZpw
"Whole Wide World," Wreckless Eric, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jS7AD-lqwA (the non-movie version is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9_cB3JoP5A)
"Womanizer," Brittany Spears, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMqayQ-U74s
"Rock and Roll #2," Gary Glitter, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xd44PWZGzg (a live version)
"Mambo #5," Lou Bega, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfvJOL1gpic
"I Like to Move It," Madagascar Sound Track, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x3W6hutEj8
"Walk Like an Egyptian," the Bangles, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWP-AsG5DRk
"Tree Hugger," Juno Soundtrack, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R378SwPH-b0
"Eyes," Rogue Wave, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRXd8jtQPaA
"Kokomo," Beach Boys, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIWgaqKgqhg
"Goody Two Shoes," Adam Ant, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3g5G0PFuXQ
"Pirates of the Caribbean Theme," Guitar version from Sungha Jung, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5WB-p-QBJc&feature=related
"Anyone Else But You," Moldy Peaches, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N3BjVMWziE
"All I Want is You," Juno Soundtrack, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlg54QGX3F0&feature=related
"Cotton-Eyed Joe," Rednex, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBvkJqL2fQU&feature=related
"Gone Gone Gone," Allison Krauss and Robert Plant, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WRm3VsmXRE

crawfordjeremy702000: hello.
babiesstolemydingo: How goes?
babiesstolemydingo: Do I know you?
crawfordjeremy702000: i am okay i found you at sunnydalewriters yahoo group
babiesstolemydingo: O...kay.
crawfordjeremy702000: i was wondering if you write fanfiction.
babiesstolemydingo: On occasion.
crawfordjeremy702000: i was looking for someone to write a fic.
babiesstolemydingo: Do tell...
crawfordjeremy702000: does this bother you a nc-17 of joyce or willow pairied with a 11 or 15 year old male.
crawfordjeremy702000: if so sorry.
babiesstolemydingo: Sorry, pedophilia, not my thing. Seriously, an ELEVEN YEAR OLD? How sick are you? Have you gotten help for that? You know you're famous, right?
crawfordjeremy702000: jerk
babiesstolemydingo: Hey, I'm not the one asking for pedo fic.
babiesstolemydingo: From perfect strangers
crawfordjeremy702000: is typing a message.
crawfordjeremy702000: FUCK YOU ASSHOLE
babiesstolemydingo: Not in this lifetime
babiesstolemydingo: Or any other

...he gets off on this, doesn't he?

The Princess and the Frog.

I am aware (peripherally) of the wank surrounding this movie. I...can't speak to it, and whether or not Disney Failed or Succeeded on that front. I'm not qualified, and I leave it to people who are.

All I know is that the story and the characters sucked me in and I loved it. Loved loved absolutely loved it. It made me cry because I was sad, and it made me cry because I was happy.

I'm not going to spoil it here (although there will be spoilers in the comments, no doubt), but this movie worked for me in every conceivable way.

THAT BEING SAID. This is not a movie for little, little kids. I'm pretty sure that had Da Boy been, say, six, rather than eight, parts of it would have had him freaking pretty hard. Think the Frollo "Fire" scene in Hunchback...only more than once. There are some scary, scary scenes here. And another one that's really sad. And that's all I'm going to say about that unless someone wants me to elaborate in comments.

So, yes, I recommend this, with that caveat.

Tomorrow we're going to hop on a (commercial) plane and fly to San Antonio, where we will rent a car and then drive down to Port Aransas to see my folks. Interwebs may or may not be spotty for the duration. We should be coming back on Wednesday, loads permitting (ah, the joys of non-revving).

After that, not sure. Hubby is off until the 27th. We may go out to St. Louis to see his sister and then swing by his Mom's in Pueblo on the way back in the Cessna--depends on the weather, which is always iffy this time of year.

In writing news, I had my first dream ever about Ben last night, and it left me with such a vivid image in my head that I may just have to write the scene out because it was awesome. There are times I hate my brain; this is not one of them.

I've added two new songs to my early morning play list to jump start the heart. This is instead of Red Bull:



Embedding has been disabled for the second tune, but it's a good one: "And She Was."

One more week of school and we're into the Christmas Break.

As a part of my effort to raise my intellectual karma, I teach Casablanca in my Advanced Placement Literature class. They can't use their knowledge of the movie to write an essay for the exam, and there are no film questions on the A.P. test either, but I figure by showing this film to the majority of students who haven't seen it, that I have done a good deed for literature. One year I showed it and the class applauded at the end. Ahh, sometimes the magic works.

Student Quote of the Day: When asked what her opinion was of Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa in Casablanca, a student said, "Everyone thinks she was so noble, but I thought she was a lying skank."

Tweaks and enhancements

• As a number of you reported, a service interruption impaired sending and receiving notifications for a couple of days. This was due to an avalanche of snowflake cookies. We've removed the free snowflake cookie and unclogged the pipeline. Timely notifications should resume shortly. Please note that there's a backlog in our queues, so you'll be getting earlier notifications first. For more details, check out this post at lj_maintenance.
• In anticipation of the new year, we've embarked on a self-improvement kick to boost our backend (pun semi-intended). This will allow us to offer you a holiday promotion in the next few weeks (yes, we're listening and working very hard to make it happen). We sincerely appreciate your continued patience and support.

Holiday vgifts are here!

We've added some fantastic new vgifts to help you spread holiday cheer. We also hope you'll honor AIDS Awareness Month by purchasing virtual red ribbons. Priced at $2.99, we'll donate 100 percent of gross proceeds to IAVI.org (the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative) to support the development and global distribution of an affordable HIV vaccine.

Introducing: LJLimericks

We cordially here do invite you
To craft a fine limerick. Might you?
Each week, a new theme,
Then a poll, that's our dream
Winner posted on news to delight you!

In honor of all the brilliant writers on LiveJournal, we've created a brand new community: ljlimericks! Each week, we'll enter a handful of limericks into a poll (which we'll tuck snugly under an LJ-Cut). The winning poem will be published in the following newsletter. In addition, the author will receive a virtual blue ribbon! If you have the time, come drop us a rhyme. Please keep the "Nantucket" stuff on the downlow, since this is a youth-friendly community. Our first prompt is: Insomnia in winter.

Photos of the week

We're back with more incredible images from our global photography community. Congratulations to sempre_marseeya, who has been awarded a virtual blue ribbon as the winner of our second lj_photophile poll.

We hate to squelch your creativity, but, as a courtesy to other users, please post only one photo at a time and keep the main photo no larger than 350x350 (so images display properly via mobile and on friends pages). You can link to a larger image and/or post photos under a cut. Just so you know, we select photos for the poll blindly, based on user comments and staff feedback. Please continue to vote, comment, and, of course, enjoy. You can check out the week in pictures and view more awesome user content after the jump!

( Read more... )

Curtains

Thanks, again, for joining us. Stay warm and safe out there!

Poll #1497299 Avatar vs Sherlock Holmes CAGE MATCH
This poll is closed.
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 24

So. They open a week apart. Which one?

I myself am planning on both.

backpacking
Want to embrace your wanderlust on the cheap? If you're tall on adventurous spirit, but short on funds, this community can help you plan a trip to anywhere. Offering plentiful tips on how to travel light, you can post about bargain hotels and hostels if you're into urban exploration or discuss camping gear and mosquito netting for the great outdoors. Hitch your backpack, pitch your tent, and carpe diem!

Here is my latest blog entry at our district teachers' blog:

My room at Fruita Monument has an outside door but no windows. Since I arrive before the sun rises and often stay past sunset, I can go days without knowing what the weather was, but that doesn’t mean I miss the seasons. There’s a rhythm to a school year and seasonal markers that are a comfort.

Fall at the high school is about new backpacks, the remnants of the summer past, and football. I know the year is new because we’re awash with last year’s data and this year’s action plans in response. The decorations in my room reflect the season too. I’m a big Edgar Allan Poe fan, so I dedicate my rotating display to him. It gives the room an autumnal/Halloween feel until the end of October.

After Halloween, Poe comes down and Charles Dickens goes up. The football season is past, but basketball has started. The weather I can’t see rolls into the room every time the door opens. Kids next to the door wear their coats. This morning, for example, it is -12 degrees outside. Thanksgiving and the five day holiday whets our appetites for the Christmas vacation that is heading our way (whoops, I mean “Winter Break”). I love this stretch of school. There are enough breaks to keep energy high, and the kids have settled into a school habit.

Once Christmas is past, Charles Dickens disappears and Shakespeare takes over the display area. It is the “winter of our discontent,” which is a line from Richard III. For me, the time from school picking up again in January until spring break is the toughest stretch. Breaks are too far apart. Energy reserves are low. The sun rises too late in the morning and sets too soon at night (not that I would know). Snow and cold, which were delightful and seasonal in December, are just dreary and an annoyance.

But spring does come, announced by college basketball’s March Madness and spring training for baseball. My heart flickers hopefully when I see our baseball players heading into the gym with their gloves tucked under their arms for a little preseason conditioning. Many seniors have solidified their plans for the next year, although there is always a flurry of late letters of recommendation and piles of scholarship applications. In the seven months since school began, the kids have visibly changed, come more into their own, and made measurable progress.

Emily Dickinson has taken over the display. The trees begin to bud. For the seniors, there’s eagerness and apprehension. The juniors are moving into position to become, for good or ill, the school leaders. Rumors about the next year are flying and the faculty lounge is a hotbed of predictions. Always, a teacher or two will be retiring, and I’ll feel the melancholy of watching careers come to their ends. Graduation. The last days without our seniors. Cleaning up the room. And the rhythm is complete.

As Dickinson says,

A light exists in spring
Not present on the year
At any other period.
When March is scarcely here

A color stands abroad
On solitary hills
That science cannot overtake,
But human nature feels.

It waits upon the lawn;
It shows the furthest tree
Upon the furthest slope we know;
It almost speaks to me.

After our big snow storm, the skies cleared and temperatures plummeted. It's -12 degrees right now. Since my classroom has an outside door and two walls that face the outdoors, it can get chilly in here. I have a little space heater under my desk, though, so my legs are always warm. The poor students who sit near the door get a cold air bath any time someone goes in or out.

The coldest temperature for this day was -18 in 1919. My Google-fu failed me a bit since I couldn't find our record low ever. Today is darned chilly, however. On top of the cold, the highway runs along the Colorado River all the way from my house to the school, which is 17 miles, The fog was thick enough that I never drove over 30. Freezing fog means that tree limbs and power lines become covered with a layer of ice that can break the trees and snap the lines.

I like winter right up until Christmas. After that, I'm ready for spring.

I hate winter.

It's six degrees outside right now.

Yes, you read that right. Six. Not sixteen, or twenty-six. Six. And, you know what? It's still early. It's going to get colder.

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaate.

My original goal in writing this thing was 100,000 words.

I blew through that.

So I upped the goal to 125,000 words.

I have now blown through that.

I broke 130,000 words, plus a couple hundred, today.

Think I'll have the first draft done by 150,000? Shall we make a betting pool? I'm actually thinking 175,000 by the time it's said and done, because I've not done any villain scenes at all and Janni's part of this isn't even sketched out yet.

*headdesks repeatedly*

Dissociative Identity Disorder. Obviously, I'm going to need more than just this article, and I've got some notes from a panel at LTUE as well, but...yeah.

Because this is failure on a massive, massive scale, which possibly who am I fooling, definitely piled yet another trauma on poor Ben's head. Which is not what I intended to do when I set out to write this scene, but that's for sure what happened. In spades.

Oh, god. The fact that I think the only possible way he comes out of this in any way functional is by calving off another personality to deal with it...

I'd drop an f-bomb here, but even that word is not enough for the sheer amount of horror I'm feeling right now.

*headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk*

And please don't think I'm taking this lightly. I am so not. At all.

Boy, this scene just got a whole lot more complicated than I thought it was at first blush.

This is no way a deus ex machina. It's a try/abject fail cycle. Which is great for me, but...not so good for poor Ben.

In other news, I'm not getting comments emailed to me until way after the fact. So if I'm slower than usual replying, that's why.

In the 28 years I've been teaching in Grand Junction, we've had two snow days. Today is the third.

I woke up this morning at my normal 4:45 and saw more snow on the ground than I've ever seen in Grand Junction. We're lucky most winters if there's enough snow for sledding a couple of times a season. This is the real deal, though. About a foot worth.

So, I'll write, watch movies, take a nap. I left my folder with ungraded papers at school. I don't have a work option. Darn.

The picture is from our front porch, looking down the street.