Between the good and bad, that's where you'll find me, Reaching for Heaven

Shamelessly stolen from tomboy_typist

Give me one of my RP characters and one of yours, and I will tell you-- no matter how ridiculous the pairing-- the following about their first child (if they are canonically a couple with children, I will make up a non-canon child.) Same sex couples are okay too, I'll figure out something. If you don't have any puppets of your own, feel free to just pick a fictional character that you think I might know and ask away! ^^
A. Name
B. Zodiac Sign and/or Hogwarts House
C. Circumstances of Conception
D. PB/Appearance
E. Three Random Facts

Had to go to Wal-Mart to buy myself a new pair of pants for work, as one pair got a hole worn through the front of one leg. Now, I'm not much of a fan of clothes-shopping to begin with, thus my frustration got doubled when all I could find was sweatpants, leggings, more sweatpants, jeans, *more* sweatpants, velour leggings and even more sweatpants. I guess they were stocked up for the people who decided to hit the gym in the new year. Fortunately, after much molar-grinding and hunting, I found a pair of canvas pants that should do nicely.

Currently re-reading "Northanger Abbey", preparatory to intro'ing Catherine Morland at a certain Mansion. She's excited about the idea, though she's reticent to admit it. Also trying to readjust Muraki to being on request only status: he's not happy about it and he's starting to get restless already (even though he has 15 active threads), which might explain why he's started to stalk the headspace version of Titus Groan.

I've been on a bit of a hiatus from this journal, mostly because I've been busy, partly because I've been trying to let the dust settle after a kerfuffle earlier this week.

One thing that's kept me scurrying around doing errands, even when it was hot out: I needed a new pair of sandals badly, since the pair I was wearing simply were falling apart at the heels. But try finding a pair of *SENSIBLE SANDALS* these days when women seem to be wearing those flippy, frippy, strippy-strappy things that look like they're designed for tooling around the mall or showing off to ones galpals, and not necessarily walking a mile in. I don't/can't drive due to my sensory overload issues (trust me: I am all but a nervous wreck behind the wheel, plus cars are expensive to maintain), thus I buy shoes for their durability and comfort. Unfortunately I had to search through about five or six stores before I found a sensible style, similar to the pair I have. I did, however, get myself a few consolation prizes along the way, including: a Hello Kitty throw pillow with a black and white polka dot hairbow on one ear, and a black and white Hello Kitty throw blanket for the coming cold months, and... a bottle of TruBlood. Really! I have yet to drink it, and right now, it's sitting on my bookshelf, next to (I kid you not) a small crucifix!

Also, have been watching the 2009 version of "The Prisoner", featuring Jim Caviezel and Sir Ian McKellen (otherwise known to the carpe_ho_ras gang as "11-12's canon"). Cue yours truly making jokes about "Jesus and Gandalf in the same TV series". I'm rather glad I'm only passingly familiar with the Patrick McGoohan version from the 1960s, as this helped me approach it with a blank slate, though there again, I tend to be open-hearted towards most adaptations, unless it's hopelessly wonky (viz. the 2001 version of "The Time Machine" and the Ralph Bakshi animated versions of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings"). I enjoyed it immensely and am planning to rewatch it very soon: the visuals and the acting is utterly incredible. Still trying to figure a few things out, but that's what rewatches are for. Also, their use of some Beach Boys songs made me laugh (sort of a riff on the Patrick McGoohan version and its use of Beatles songs). I also found it rather interesting that 6 in both versions is played by a Catholic actor who's been known to turn down or request adjustments in roles which don't sit right with their comfort levels and their consciences; Patrick McGoohan rather famously turned down the role of James Bond because he wasn't comfortable with the character's more or less loose moral code, and Jim Caviezel has been known to gently insist that love scenes be toned down. (Note: this is by no means a judgment on love scenes in movies/TV; everyone has different comfort levels and consciences of varying sensitivities. I'm not always comfortable with certain things, so I just Look Away on certain bits. But I applaud actors who respect themselves by being true to their consciences, and I applaud directors who are willing to make adjustments in their creation in order to respect their actors.).

Also watching "Gankutsuou [The Count of Monte Cristo]", which I am thoroughly enjoying, even if the color scheme can make my eyes ache at times. The Count makes me think somewhat of a cross between a kinder, gentler Alucard and one of the elves from "Those Who Hunt Elves", while I'm having fun doing "Hey It's That Voice": the girl who voices Orihime in "Bleach" as Peppo, the guy who voiced Jet Black as one of the Count's manservants, Wendee Lee in several roles, the voice actress for the bitchy actress in the King of Swords arc of YnM in several other roles, Liam O'Brien aka. Hisoka from ditto as Albert's rival, Aramaki's VA as a random old man, and I think I might have heard Michael Ross (End of Evangelion!Fuyutsuki) in some random supporting part. To say nothing of increasingly ubiquitous Jonny Yong Bosch as Albert.

Of course this, coupled with re-rewatching the last two episodes of "Gormenghast" over the weekend, preparatory to intro'ing Titus Groan at the Mansion, has caused one headspace dweller to warn me that he's close to having an aneurysm over the sheer number of attractive young men that are in these series, particularly ones he's met at the Mansion.

I've been a bit busy starting some of the birthday festivities: I have to work the day after my birthday, so I've had to rearrange my schedule a bit.

But, among other things, I've been doing a bit of shopping, some practical, some fun. Among other things I have acquired:

--Several DVDs, including both the Tod Browning and the Francis Ford Coppola versions of "Dracula" -- I've never seen the whole thing of the Tod Browning version, so I'm rectifying that, stat -- also the complete set of "Firefly", which I was watching over the weekend via Hulu, and which I enjoyed so much that I picked that and "Serenity" up at Newberry Comics in Burlington.

--A Fangtasia tee-shirt, also at Newberry Comics; I almost bought a bottle or two of TrueBlood, but my finances wouldn't allow for that at that time.

--Do not shoot me, but I also bought a copy of the new Twhinelite novella, the proceeds from which are going to the Red Cross to help the relief effort in Haiti and in Chile. I've only just started reading it, and so far it's pretty good (compared to the rest of the series).

--Also have been getting several packages in the mail, more books on order from Amazon, including the light novel version of Blood+ (essentially a novelization of the anime; just waiting for the third one so I can triple-check the facts on Riku's death since I am introing him at the Mansion this week) and the art book based on the BBC version of Gormenghast (proof of how obsessed I am. Stephen Fry's introduction in it should be waved under the noses of all the purists whinging on Youtube about the miniseries: he pretty much slaps all their arguments with a dead fish).

I'm also figuring out the webcam on this laptop, and thus I maaay be posting video bloggage via YouTube. We'll see: I haven't yet set up an account there, but in due time.

So... I've been a bit invisible lately due to Not Feeling Like Myself due to That Time of the Month impending and simply crashing after all the emotional roller coaster rides I've been on lately. I've been by turns:

--Watching random classical music vids on YouTube

--Sloooowly catching up on carpe_ho_ras tags (Next to Parsifal, Ryuk has had the biggest intro to date of my characters: proof of how popular Death Note is).

--Typing/posting another fic for comment_fic; will post to another entry

--Alternating reading chapters of Gormenghast with watching the miniseries (via YouTube): Best way to compare and contrast them (And I like 'em both. Drat the nay-sayers who whine in the YT comments about the Pre-Raphaelite art design and the brighter lighting: I think it creates a better contrast, and in some cases, I find it an interesting foil to the Gothic elements). And phooey on the nuts who gripe about Jonathan Rhys-Meyers: he might be prettier than the book version of Steerpike, but boy, does he have the personality nailed left, right and center (scary....); there is something to be said for good-looking villains: it's that whole "evil looks attractive" thing. ( :: Glares at another good-looking villain, in headspace, for drooling...:: ) Also having some Carpe Horas-related hilarity whilst reading the critical essays in the back of the omnibus (borrowed from the Lowell Library; will likely be returning it once my own copy shows up in the mail -- used via Amazon): One essay describes Steerpike as having "vampiric qualities", which lead me to snerk, "Not quite, but his self-appointed mentor does, and if the cards get played right, he might wind up as a sympathetic energy phage..."

--Rewatching Blood Plus, since Riku Miyagusuku has joined the chorus in headspace, and I think he'd be an interesting new arrival to the Mansion: Nice, sensible, cute little guy who just happens to be a dhampire/chiropteran chevalier. I had forgotten how much this anime plays like what you get if you throw Hellsing, a Robert Ludlam novel, a schoolgirl samurai flick and some warm-fuzzy family drama into a blender. And is it me, or is Van Argiano an Expy of Muraki (and possibly a role Crispin Freeman took up because he'd flaked out taking the role of His Paleness in the dub of YnM)? Also, there seems to be much Talking To Himself in this anime: the guy who voiced Kai Miyagusuku also voices a desk clerk who dickers with him, and then there's Crispin Freeman voicing a mook technician who grumbles at Argiano.

LJ is now offering up to fifteen extra userpics for basic accounts for $6... and since I discovered I still had an unused gift certificate in my account, I put that toward... fifteen extra userpics for each of "the boys": this has caused jubilation in headspace, to whit -- getting tackle-glommed by Tsuzuki (in puppy-shinigami mode, no less, which is always a delight), and getting snogged by His Paleness (the first time he's gotten that forward, ever). So for those who have been stalking a cute_shinigami and a silvereyedphage, you're likely to see some formerly retired userpics return as well as a number of new ones I've had my eye on.

Nope, I don't seem to be doing my usual "devour the book in one day" since I've been juggling it with Gregory Maguire's "Wicked", which I for some reason never finished when I started reading it two years ago. We recently had the book version of Elphaba turn up at the Mansion and I decided this was a sign that I needed to finish familiarizing myself with her world.

I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but I have to say, "Changes" is not pulling any punches. "Hurt the hero" is one of the many rules of good fiction writing, and let me tell you, Jim is roundhouse punching Harry in this one. The series is not going to be the same after this, and I'm dreading some of the reactions that the small handful of kiddie fans will have -- though older fans will be cackling with glee (while secretly wincing at the things that go down).