I irrationally hate the made up words hir and ze, as used by people who choose not to presume a gender when they're talking about someone. I think they sound look fucking stupid.

I'm finding "This." to be an extremely irritating response to anything now. Mix it up, fandom.

The word "problematic" is also getting on my nerves. I vote we start saying "problematical" instead, for the lulz.

eta: dear metafandom, don't link to this post plz.

I give the latest Smallville wank a 3 out of 10. Poor effort, SV fandom.

~

How does one teach a particularly dim cat to use a cat flap? Because he does not seem to understand that he needs to open it with his head, no matter how many times I demonstrate (with my hand not my head). He knows there's a door there because when I wedge it open with a dvd case he uses it all the time, but when it's closed he just sniffs at it a lot then gives up. Seriously, my cat is a total moron.

Leave a comment and I'll tell you five things I associate with you. And then you post about those five things, and invite others to have you tell them what you associate with them!

fleegull chose:

1) London

Ah, London. The emigration destination for 90% of the youth of New Zealand. If you're a kiwi and you haven't lived in London for at least a couple of years you are probably a big loser (no offence). I got here about seven years ago and I'm as settled as it's possible to be in a city this insane, although I still don't know my way around the west end. This is not a joke. Every time I go to the theatre I have to print off a coloured map from streetmap.co.uk and I still get lost. It's so embarrassing. I used to live in Notting Hill and I hate it there – too many tourists, too many bankers -- who think they’re cool for living in such a bohemian area when actually they are just suckers because it is now ridiculously overpriced and full of pretentious dickwads and it hasn’t been bohemian since the seventies although the carnival is still good times except for how it gets really violent -- not enough cool bars (which is the fault of the bankers, of course. A bar is only as cool as its clientele). Best city in the world.

2) Being so outspoken...a good thing!

Blame my parents, especially my mother. Both of them are scrupulously honest which is why I never lie, and my mother is very opinionated and outspoken, so it’s normal behaviour to me.

I’m an extrovert who likes a good discussion and the best way to kick off a discussion is by speaking your mind about a contentious issue. Yes, it means taking a risk that you might offend someone, but if you’re good humoured about it more often than not people will respond positively. Of course, being outspoken has come back to bite me in the ass on more than one occasion here in fandom and because of that I now keep my journal mostly light-hearted. As it turns out I’m not emotionally equipped to deal with nasty backlash and I’m definitely not prepared to be seen as a fandom wanker/hypocrite/misogynist even by a small number of fucking assholes, so I don’t look for trouble anymore because at heart I’m a sensitive soul who just wants people to like her.

3) female characters in fandom: standing up for them!

If I had one huge bugbear in fandom it’s the ubiquitous, relentless bashing of female characters. No matter what the fandom you’ll generally find the most unpopular character/s is/are female. This upsets me. It makes me wish that we would all try harder to resist hating that female character who drives us nuts, because maybe our reasons for hating her are Utter Bullshit and based more on deeply ingrained sexism than on things that actually offend us. Maybe they’re based on just plain jealousy. Maybe she’s really not all that bad. Maybe we should take a good hard look at ourselves every time we think of a female character as a skank, and if we just can’t help ourselves calling her a whore in our head we should *definitely* stop ourselves from sharing that opinion with the world. Because it hurts our cause whenever we use hateful, derogatory language about women, and is it really such a hardship to keep our mouths shut when we’re in public? It’s bad enough when men judge us because of the way we look or the number of people we fuck, but when women do it, it hurts so much more. It’s not wrong to hate a character (and of course I dislike my fair share of female characters) but when you’re spending more time despising her existence than you are, I dunno, having a life, you maybe want to check your attitude.

So yeah, even the female characters I don’t like will get a second, third, tenth chance from me, because I want to be able to stand up for them when everyone else is damning them to hell for eternity. \o/

4) Nightlife and how you live it up so well!

HA! I have always been a hedonist and I suspect I always will be. My friends and I tend to have this in common: we like to drink. If I’m getting together with a friend drinking is going to be done, and if it’s not I’m going to wonder why they're trying to ruin my good time.

5) Dinosaur comics!

Funniest comic strip IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. I would marry T-Rex if I could (and if I can’t then I will marry Ryan).

A few of my favourites:

http://www.qwantz.com/archive/000004.html

http://www.qwantz.com/archive/000005.html

http://www.qwantz.com/archive/000011.html

http://www.qwantz.com/archive/000016.html

http://www.qwantz.com/archive/000816.html

http://www.qwantz.com/archive/001203.html

I always feel really sad and frustrated when I read an awesome fic by an amazing writer and then I go to stalk them and I discover that they haven't posted in their LJ for like two years or something. Where do they go?

(Seriously, all the best VM writers have left the internet.)

( Happy new president, America!! )

~

I know I shouldn't judge, but this challenge makes me feel physically sick. :(

~




( Smallville spoiler )





~

( Battlestar Galactica, 4.11: Sometimes a Great Notion )

~

( The L Word, 6.01: Long Night's Journey Into Day )

~

Last seen in serenography's LJ:

The first 5 people that respond to this post will get something made by me. It will be about, or tailored to, those first five people who respond.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
- What I create will be just for you.
- It'll be done this year.
- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a mix tape. It may be fic, or a poem. I may draw or paint something. I might bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange (you really should be worried at this point).

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well, if you expect me to do something for you!

So last night I did this dumbass thing whilst drunk. See, I was out with Kirsty, Lois (who introduced herself to us as Superman's girlfriend, lol), Sharan and Christine, who works in another department here. I don't know her that well but I do really like her, and we had this little bonding moment early in the evening when she came by my office to pick me up, and spotted the Tom Welling picture I have tacked up on my wall. Turns out, she's a huge Smallville fan, she *downloads* it because she loves it so much (although she's still a few eps behind), she agrees with me that Tom Welling is the hottest man on the planet and that Clark is looking foxier this year than ever before, she loves Clark and Lois, and she finds Lex sexy. Amazing!

Later in the evening after much drinking I discovered more. She not only loves Smallville, she loves Supernatural and SGA, Buffy and Star Trek, and probably every other big fandomy show ever made. She didn't know what fanfiction was but she liked the sound of it, and was more than open to the idea of Wincest, and people, she is clearly a fangirl. I was all, "You have to read some fanfiction. I'm going to send you my latest story!"

Which I did the moment I got home. Except that I also thought it would be an awesome idea to send her a link to my livejournal.

This morning, when I remembered what I'd done I had a mini panic attack. HOLY SHIT I JUST GAVE SOMEONE I BARELY KNOW WHO WORKS AT THE SAME PLACE AS ME ACCESS TO MY LIVEJOURNAL. That's, like, three and a half years of me doing nothing but talk about television and porn, and omg WHAT WAS I THINKING.

When she walked in to our office this morning to say hi I was an anxious, shaky, hungover mess, and she goes to me: "You know what, Kate? I think I gave you the wrong email address."

LOL.

So I sent her the story as an attachment instead because I'm still on a mission to convert her to fanfiction, and whoever that other Christine person is that I sent last night's email to, she got a nice, weird surprise this morning.

VICTORY!

~

I saw "Teeth" the other day and I can't get it out of my head. Not a perfect film but seriously amazing (and strangely cathartic). You should ALL see it.

~

It is really cool to be fannishly obsessed with something again, to the point where all I want to do is write fanfiction. All me and Melissa do at the moment is talk about Clark and Lois and how perfect they are, both separately and together. Ack. I love them so much it hurts. Apparently I am now in het fandom you guys. The only character I remotely feel like slashing these days is Chuck from Gossip Girl (of course. I mean, who wouldn't?), but otherwise I'm all about boys and girls having non-subversive, heterosexual sex. From Jack and Liz, to Booth and Brennan, to House and Cuddy, to my beloved Clois, what the hell is going on?

PS. Clex fans, don't fret. I will always adore them.

I am very happy with my undermistletoe assignment and I have already written 377 words of it, which is awesome of me.

~

Do you know what I haven't talked about here in ages? Yes I think you do know.

For a community so obsessed with pornography (in the form of fanfic, usually) I thought it might be interesting to discuss it in a broader sense, so here's a poll to get us started. (Thanks to this page on wikipedia and Melissa for the help.)

( A poll about porn )

I'm so nervous for America (and the rest of the world) today. Please vote! Thanks, and best of luck (to Obama <3).

~

I love this post so very, very hard: Trying to crack the comma conundrum

~

Do you hide your friend of list? If so, why? If not, why not? I used to have mine out in the open and I had a number of excellent reasons for that, but then one day I just decided that it was no one else's goddamn business who had me friended and I hid it. It was kind of exhilarating, but also out of character for me because I'm not one for keeping secrets - generally speaking I'm a 'what you see is what you get' kind of lady. So what happened?

When I first arrived on LJ I was much nosier than I am now, and journals that hid their FO list drove me nuts. I would form opinions about people simply due to the size of their FO list - if lots of people read their journal clearly they were worth reading, and vice versa. But over the years I've learned that just because someone hides their FO list it doesn't mean they're ashamed of their lack of friends; it could just as easily mean they are trying to be mysterious. (I, of course, fall into the latter camp.) Nowadays I am more likely to form opinions about LJers based on how interesting/fun/friendly/smart they are, not on how popular their journal is, which must mean I have grown as a person. Also, many of my reasons for initially keeping my FO list visible were to do with attracting readers, and now I don't really give a crap about that.

What about you guys?

The weekend was weird. On Saturday the girls and I went to a couple of films at the film festival, the first of which was lovely ("Cover Girl" with Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth), the second of which was the single worst film experience I've maybe ever had (and I've seen "Salo"). If you ever want to know what my idea of film hell is, check out "Tony Manero", ( Read more... )

Then I got home to discover something wrong with Charlie's ear. He had the first of his leukemia shots on Friday so I wonder if it's reaction to that, but he now seems to have an ear infection if the internet is to be believed. He keeps scratching his ear and shaking his head, and it's lying a bit flat. ARGH. (I actually wrote this bit yesterday and thankfully Charlie seems fine today, so I guess it must have been a side effect of the shot. Which is a relief because he's bleeding me dry right now. I can't remember the last time I was this broke.)

The X Factor

Yes, apparently this is the only show I want to talk about these days! Even though, like, only three of you give a shit. I'll cut this for once, to spare the rest of you.

( Austin: my beautiful new boyfriend. <3 )

~

I have not seen Smallville yet, but hopefully I will get a bit of solo living room time tonight after work.

~

And now for the interactive portion of the post.

( How do you feel about the term 'Friends'? )

Poll #1281826
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 38

"Friends"

If no, what would you prefer instead?

If you haven't been reading about fandom's latest favourite sociopath and all the reasons we need to shun the fuck out of her, it is time to start now!

You can find all the info you need in liviapenn's post:

Laura Hale: Sole proprietor of a unique marketing opportunity

Wow, right? WHAT A TOSSER.

No judgements here, let’s just talk about what to us is the anti-hot. (Aside: I recognise that in the right hands all of these squicks could be -- and have been -- made to work for me.)

---

( EW. )


Help me think of more, flist!

Dear icon maker moron,

What is the point of posting your spoilery teaser icons outside a cut next to a warning saying *SPOILER IMAGES*?

THANK YOU I CAN SEE THAT.

No love,

Kate

(I had actually seen the image in question this time but am still outraged on behalf of all other spoilerphobes out there who maybe hadn’t. Also, rampant stupidity annoys me.)

~

In other, more awesome, news, I passed my Life in the UK test! They gave us 45 minutes to answer 24 multiple choice questions and I did it in 5. BECAUSE I ARE CLEVA. They didn't tell me how many I got right (you had to score at least 18) but I know for sure that I got one wrong because I looked it up afterwards.

I just heard on the radio that z-lister Keri Katona has gone into labour. She’s expecting a boy, who she’s going to call Max. After her PUBLICIST, Max Clifford. HAHAHA.

That may be the lamest thing I’ve heard all day, and I've already heard about bandom imploding over that Wentz guy’s impending nuptials. It’s like a tidal wave of lame!

Also:

Apparently we’re so used to companies talking shit to us and sugar coating their bullshit with platitudes that when one of them is actually honest it’s the end of the freaking world! Hee.

If you’re sick of being told to be outraged and would like a reason to remain apathetic about LJ’s treatment of their userbase, romanyg defends Anton Nosik here. Refreshing!

ETA. More links: An alternative translation of the interview by furiosity

A note to English-speaking readers, by anton_nossik

I will still be boycotting the boycott, and oh yes btw, in case you don’t religiously read the comment threads on all of my posts, I have officially declared tomorrow SOCKPUPPET DAY in my LJ, so take your socks out of the draw, dust them off, and get ready to troll me. (Unless you're boycotting like a lame-o of course.)

~

I'm not going to get to see it tonight because I am going out on the town, so will one of you tell me what happened in American Idol this week? Who was good, who sucked, who got booted etc?

~

MELANIE LYNSKEY (best know for being the other one in Heavenly Creatures and the crazy neighbour in Two and a Half Men) WAS IN THE LATEST EPISODE OF THE L WORD.

This is very exciting for me because I have totally hung out with her before! She is a friend of a friend and one time about six or seven years ago we were sitting next to each other at our mutual friend's birthday dinner, AND we really hit it off! Also! She was at university with one of my closest friends and she was totally obsessed with him! One night she took all her clothes off and asked him to fuck her and he said no! Because he didn't fancy her! Because desperation is never sexy!

/end claim to fame

I think I will post a lot on Friday in protest. I will be protesting the retardedness of the "don't post at all on Friday" meme. FUN!

Of course, if all of you are participating in the meme and no one comments on any of my entries then I guess the joke's on me.

I am sick and tired of seeing (the occasional) OTW supporter comparing being a fangirl to being gay, female or a PoC. Even if a fan does feel persecuted by non-fans, because the non-fans don’t understand that underage Harry Potter fan-art has nothing to do with paedophilia, it is NOT REMOTELY THE SAME OH MY GOD. Fannishness shouldn't be struggle! And if it is, you're doing it wrong. Basically, if you, Fangirl A with a desperate need to be accepted (admired?) by the outside world, feel discriminated against I am going to LOL AT YOU SO HARD. You’re a big dork. Own it or stfu.

Did you see that we got some representation in the first round of American Idol? Star Wars Fangirl, who wasn’t remotely embarrassing or a freak, no! LOLOLOL.

Come on, people. That sort of behaviour will NEVER be legitimate or normal or respected by anyone outside of fandom. And don't be fooled. SHE'S ONE OF US. [Simon’s face…lolololololol]

Speaking of which!

I have managed to somehow avoid watching American Idol since its inception, even though I love Simon, but then end of last year I became hooked on The X Factor within five minutes of watching it, so I am now a shameless fan of these sorts of shows. Yesterday in the office, Annette says “American Idol starts on TV tonight,” and I literally clapped my hands and jumped up and down and whooped with joy.

Even better was that between the first two episodes they showed a documentary from a couple of years ago called “Simon Cowell: American Idol” which was an hour of Simon behind the scenes being awesome and funny. :)

I LOVE SIMON.

( American Idol 7: episodes 1 and 2 spoilers )

I was in an excellent mood before, but now I'm very upset. Some utter fuckwit has plagiarised the work of Thamiris. Not just stories, but comments and meta posts. Her BIO. I'm so enraged I even contributed to the dogpile in his latest fic post. *shakes*

~


The problem with watching episodes of "The Wire" before everyone else (I've now seen the first two eps) is that I want to talk about them and ask questions about the bits that confused me, but there's NO POINT. Because none of you have seen them yet and no one will read the posts. *frowns*

GIP. Look at my pretty new Clex icon that the very talented serenography made. ♥

Stuff happening:

1. I am in the middle of my undermistletoe story and very much enjoying myself. And seeing as I don't have much work to do today I think I will crack on with that and hopefully get them to have (more) sex, because they are both gagging for it.

2. ROBIN #169!! Shaz and I are going to go shopping at lunch (we're the only two here so plan to take an extra long lunch break) so I will grab it then. YAY. Also, I want a pair of cords.

3. I have decided to watch "The Wire" from the beginning again, and this time watch all the commentaries as well, because David Simon is a genius and the pilot commentary was fascinating. Did you know that they (almost) never use cued music? In other words, they don't try to manipulate the audience's emotions with music (this is very unusal) and instead they create an atmosphere by using music and sound that emanates from a source within the scene (according to wiki, this is called diegetic music), which is one of the reasons everything in the show feels so immediate and real. HOW COOL IS THAT.

4. I figure that by ignoring the flagging thing and the SUP thing, I won't be remotely affected by it. Although hey! All the people who hate 6A must be delighted by the sale! Right?

COMICS ♥

( Gotham Underground #2 )

~

I wathced the first two episodes of "Oz" last night.

GRIM.

But very entertaining for sure. I'm pleased that Dean Winters is in it because I adore him; a little later in the evening I watched "30 Rock" and he was in it, as Dennis, Liz's loser boyfriend, and god -- SO MUCH LOVE. He's one of those actors who is both incredibly sexy and totally shameless. He always plays characters who shouldn't be remotely likeable but always, always are, because he's so funny and cute.

~

What do you look for in a pairing? I know for me that I need to be able to see canonical evidence of a strong attraction; which only happens when the actors have great chemistry with each other but it also needs to be in the writing. [I love so much that Lex's obsession with Clark is regularly acknowledged on the show and is unwavering, even after seven years. Hell, he said himself that his obsession with Clark will never die. And despite Lex's dangerous love for Clark, Clark can't stay away from him. Now that, to me, is what great slash is made of.]

Is there a common theme in the pairings you like? I am defintiely attracted by forbidden love, opposite personalities, obsession/devotion, a power imbalance. Buffy/Spike, Clark/Lex and Bruce/Dick all have these things in common (they are my top three ever pairings).

Are you fussy? Do you fall for lots of pairings or does it hardly ever happen for you? Because I appear to be absurdly fussy. Most popular pairings in fandom leave me cold, or interest me only fleetingly. Just as in life, I guess. I can have a one night stand with a pairing and it can be fun, but in the morning I'll be all, ew, put some clothes on and get the fuck out of my house. [DC is the exception to this rule, however. All DC pairings seem to work beautifully, much to my delight.]

Kate: i'm really enjoying the song on the radio right now.
Kate: it's called "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's
Melissa: oh no
Kate: you don't like it?
Kate: it's so cute!
Melissa: that's a bandom band
Kate: HAHA OH NOES
Melissa: bandom
Melissa: just sayin'
Kate: *kills self*
Kate: I don't understand why it's "T's" with an apostrophe
Kate: that is GRAMATICALLY INCORRECT
Melissa: hehe
Kate: wow. They are all really really ugly
Melissa: most of these bands are
Kate: but that lot are particularly gruesome

~

I'm in the mood to read some hot porn but I can't find any, and I'm not in the mood to read a ton of badfic in search of the hot porn, which means I'm screwed. I wish I liked more pairings than I actually like, but a lot of the most popular pairings in fandom fill me with rage, and I'm sick of PWPs that have no plot or buildup or tension. When a story starts with sex I pretty much always glower at the screen for a bit then hit the back button.

~

Poll #1079248
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 64

Which profession is sexiest?

Flist! Please go do this poll and pick DC. PRETTY PLEASE. I want an excuse to write more Batporn.

~

Happy birthday blythely! I look forward to celebrating with you this w/e. *SMOOCH*

~

( Meta on Meta: The stress of hostessing )

I found this essay by kalpurna (which I think a lot of you will love) bizarrely alienating.

She says:

"It can be pretty damn hard to be a straight woman in fandom, according to my friends who are."

Which may or may not be true for you, I wouldn't know. I personally don't find it remotely difficult and never have, although I've seen this phenomena spoken of by a few people, who claim that a lot of girls in fandom are afraid to admit that they're straight; some even fake being bi in order to fit in.

But when I polled my flist a year ago, more than 50% of those who answered openly identify as straight. So is my flist somehow unusual or are you all just more comfortable admitting it to me and mine because *I'm* comfortably "out" as straight?

kalpurna goes on to say:

"Nobody who reads or writes slash isn't a little bit queer."

I'm not quite sure how a statement like that helps straight fen feel more comfortable in fandom. Essentially she's telling us that we don't know ourselves; that she knows us better; that there's no such thing as a heterosexual fangirl and if you think you are one, you're wrong.

I don't like being told what and who I am by other people. Especially other people who appear to only be able to see things from their own perspective. What about my perspective?

I'm straight. I write porn for women and read porn written by women and I enjoy it immensely. I have close female friends, both on and offline. We often talk about sex and porn. I've had sex with a woman. I didn't like it. I love women but they don't turn me on. I love porn. I love that my porn turns on women. I love that some of my straight male friends have read my (gay) porn and found it arousing. I'm open minded. I can't and won't claim to be queer because that would be a lie. I'm not you and you're not me.

Who are you?

This bullshit is working my last nerve.

What the fuck is her problem with women? Is she not one herself? Jesus fucking Christ, do you know what I'M sick of? Misogynist cunts like that ruining my fandom experience.

AHEM.

Today Sharan told me that when I'm not at work (I was off yesterday) Florence becomes a lot more animated. She talked so much yesterday Sharan wanted to kill her. Sharan hates it when I'm off. So I tell Caroline (our boss) that I scare Florence, and Caroline looks at me meaningfully and says:

"I think you're a lot scarier than you think you are."

You know what that means right? I scare her too!

*wins at life*

Poll #1070098
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 49

Are you scared of me?

~

TV: Brief non-spoilery comments

( Gossip Girl, Reaper and Pushing Daisies... )

I can't find a working "House" download anywhere so still haven't seen the latest ep. How is it that a show that popular is so hard to get hold of? *frownyface*

~

I am so entering this clex comics contest, that plnunn is running. I've even already started writing my story!

But first!

We're picspamming at the Fandom Garden Party today. So get over there and gaze at all the beautiful people!

Also, this from yesterday is still amusing me:

Kate: I've just made myself laugh by editing my post and turning the smiley into a marquee
Kate: i think i'm over tired
Melissa: haha
Kate: he's flying!
Melissa: he's sliding across the ice

---

Have you ever looked at a “contains disturbing content” warning in a story header and gone, “Pfft! Whatever! I like the freaky stuff. BRING IT ON. I can take whatever you throw at me. I’M HARD AS NAILS. I bet I don’t find it remotely disturbing!”

And then you read it and it scars you for life?

Yeah. Me too. :|

~

Have you ever read a story without warnings and then your favourite character dies in it and it makes you sort of hate the author ‘til the end of time?

Yeah me too! And I don’t even agree with warnings!

~

If you really like an author then you get to know them a bit and you discover they’re an absolute cunt, does it suddenly make their writing seem horribly overrated?

IT’S LIKE MAGIC.

~

Does bad porn make you squeeze your legs together and cry like a baby?

*nods sagely*

I think people should never ever say "chara" instead of "character". Because it's not clever or cool, and it's not Accepted Fandom Lingo (like some people seem to think it is), and mostly, it really, really bothers me.

There are writers in fandom who think they're hot shit, but who actually suck. This also bothers me.

Does anyone want to play the question game with me?

Do you know people in fandom who absolutely fill you with rage every time you see them getting on their soap box about something? Just because they're completely crazy and delusional to the point of offensiveness? Yeah, me too.

~

On a brighter note! Please go take part in bop_radar's Character Study Challenge. The prompts have been posted and there are some great ones in there. I've already decided the one I will be using. Now I just need to get off my ass and write something. WHOO!

~

Thank you for my bday card, romanyg! It actually made me cry with laughter. ♥

~

Anyone doubting the supremely luscious hotness of Erica Durance, needs to look at these photos (from Maxim) right now:

( Three pics. )

~

Prison Break starts tonight! I wasn't looking forward to it until I saw the giant billboard opposite my tube station, and it's of Michael and Mahone (and two others; can't recall who. Didn't care!) looking sexy in the new prison. THEY ARE ON THE SAME SIDE. I may be keeping my expectations as low as possible when it comes to PB these days, because I really did get sick of it last season, but it's nice to discover that the prospect of lots of scenes with Michael and Mahone flirting with each other working together still makes me all hot and wobbly. Now, do I download the torrent or watch it on Sky next Monday?

Poll #1056596
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 15

Should I care about keeping up with the yanks?

It's muggy today. I'm glad we're having a heatwave in London because it's my birthday next week and tomorrow I'm having a birthday party. I have the pre-party jitters at the moment. You know, the whole WHAT IF NO ONE SHOWS UP shit that I go through every single year.

~

It's nice to see fandom emotional about something new, don't you think?

Although I'm glad I don't care enough to get upset myself.

I do wonder though why so many people think that making out with someone of the same sex is (necessarily) "faking" being gay. I'm straight but I've had plenty of "gay" experiences in my life and it was never about pretending to be a lesbian. It was about fun and sometimes it was really sexy and sometimes it was about affection and closeness and other times it was about curiosity, and mostly it was about being drunk and horny and open minded. To believe that people who identify as heterosexual can only possibly have one reason for fooling around with someone of the same sex is just plain wrong (not immoral, but incorrect).

My gal bop_radar is going to host a Character Study challenge, which I think is a wicked idea. I will enter and my character study will be full of porn.

capnzebbie has done it again, and made a really fabulous Lex vid. It's dark and violent and disturbing and sad, as well as being stunning to look at.

I read "Robin Year One" last night. *HAPPY* I love Dick Grayson.

Have I mentioned that petronelle is the most amazing writer ever? (Petra, I owe you lots of feedback! I will send you a long embarrassing email soon I promise.) Go and read all of her stories, you won't regret it. But yes, one I read last night which thrilled me is this Clark/Bruce fic (shush! comics Clark is really not anything like SV's Clark, so he's allowed to have sex with the Bat family as much as he wants): Look in these eyes. If you've read the Superman/Batman "Public Enemies" comic (which I did recently) you will LOVE IT SO MUCH, but even if you haven't, it is utterly beautiful (and fancily presented).

~

( A brief word about migration... )

My chest infection came back on the weekend. Nina says it’s a physical response to emotional trauma, but she believes in astrology so I don’t quite know what to make of that.

I made myself a new banner for my LJ if anyone cares.

I’ve not been too inclined to post recently. I feel a bit alienated from fandom at the moment even though I’m feeling more fannish than ever. I have a new obsession (comics and DCU PORN) so I’m reading more fanfic now than I have in months, and I’m still a dedicated TV watcher. So where has my mojo gone?

~

I finished season 2 of Deadwood this weekend.

I won’t lie to you. I have no fucking clue what’s going on most of the time, but I find it compelling television nonetheless. Ian McShane is entirely captivating as Al Swearengen, and it’s superbly written. There’s certainly nothing else like it on television, so even if it’s incomprehensible, the language is so poetic and brutal and unreal it’s almost hypnotising. If anyone else watches it and has dug the slashy vibe between Al and Seth, I actually have a wonderful story to recommend: Thy Best, Thy Heavenly Friend, by somniesperus. She nails the dialogue and her characterisation is perfect--no small feat--and she even manages to make the sex believable.

The other show I’ve been watching is Roswell (s1). It’s soooooo baaaaaaad. I’m shamefully addicted, of course, even though I pretty much hate everyone in it. Max and Liz: *STABS THEM TO DEATH*

It will be good when hiatus is over. I miss Smallville. I am looking forward to it getting on my nerves and making me angry. That’s how much I miss it. I just hope Lex isn’t too fat.

What are you guys looking forward to the most? Everyone who says Supernatural or Heroes loses points.

An ex booty call of mine emailed me today (in response to my birthday party invitation) saying that he no longer lives in London and is expecting a baby in four weeks.

WTF.

I can't remember if we flinged (flung?) last year or the year before. It feels like it was years ago, but when I think about it closely it seems more likely that it was only last year. I DO NOT KNOW. Either way, I feel like I need to get laid soon.

~

My colleague's shitheel of a husband has been cheating on her for about three years, and while she has suspected for a while, it was confirmed yesterday. The cunt has so little respect for her (despite her being the mother of his two small children) he isn't even sorry. He blames HER for his cheating. And her confidence is at such an all time low she would probably take him back if he wanted to. UGH. I would really like to kick him in the nuts right this second. I just hope she stops being upset soon and starts getting mad. Then I hope she takes him for every fucking penny he's got. She'll probably go back to Hong Kong, which means the kids won't see their dad very often but it sounds like he cares more about himself than he does about them anyway.

~

Fallout Boy sucks ass. So does My Chemical Romance. FYI.

~

rivkat has written a long (7 parts!), plotty, extremely hot and sexy Clex story, called Useful Arts. I KNOW! She posted part 1 yesterday and part 2 today (which I am just about to read) and you should all go read it this instant.

Also, I read the most amazing Bruce/Dick AU yesterday: Hanging Work, by cereta. Dick is found (living on the streets) and raised by Selina Kyle instead of Bruce, so when Dick and Bruce meet they're on opposite sides of the law. It has an amazing plot and is heartwrenchingly romantic (and super sexy, of course), and I highly recommend it to everyone, even if this isn't a pairing that would normally interest you.

~

If I loved Dick Grayson any harder I would probably pass out.

I love it here. I'm not angry with Livejournal at all.

If you're tired of all the bitching and the threats to leave and the constant, interminable "meta" on the subject by angry fans, please read synecdochic's latest post. It is wonderful, and true.

The comment exchanges that are also essential reading can be found here, and here. Both exchanges will provide you with some much needed education about how and why Livejournal handled things the way they did, and the first exchange is wonderfully witty.

You'll notice that the people on the Livejournal side (and they're not necessarily current staff; Synecdochic no longer works for LJ) of this are being a lot more mature, rational and--sorry, it has to be said--intelligent than the people (still) bitching about them and at them.

I'm staying. I have accounts at IJ, GJ and JF, but in comparison to LJ they suck, so I never use them. And I don't plan to start.

*BEAMS*

Sorry, fandom, you're not exempt from the law.

I know you think it's "wrong" that fan-artists can get suspended for posting pornographic fan-art featuring minors, but that's not the issue here. Pornographic art featuring minors *is illegal*. Yes, even when it's fictional. It is also against LJ's TOS. So not only do they not have to warn people before suspending journals which break their TOS, they could face prosecution if they don't. This is not about freedom of speech. It is not a case of "innocent until proven guilty". If you post the art you're guilty. Hell, if you *create* the art, you're guilty. If LJ knowningly hosts the art, *they're* guilty.

No other journaling site can host art of this nature and *not* be breaking the law, even if it's not (currently) covered by their TOS.

Don't believe me? Then read this post, by synecdochic.

I'm not saying we have to agree with the law, but to expect LJ to break it for us just because we're sweet and innocent fangirls is, well, typically entitled of us.

We learn at a young age that racism is about ignorance and that racial prejudice is not innate, but taught to us.

( Read more... )

First order of business. Please all go and join my new comm!



If you support the idea that we should be able to write whatever fiction we want, join up. Pimp far and wide. (It's a political statement as much as anything else, obviously. Although if I get time today I will try to write a story to post in my shiny comm.)

And just so you know, I am planning to stay on LJ. I have accounts with every other journal service out there, but I love it here a lot and I don't want to move. I hope there isn't a mass exodus because I will miss you all.

~

The emmys are a fucking disgrace. I hate awards shows a lot anyway and I know I shouldn't get so damn angry about them, but I think it's because a lot of people take this shit seriously. I'm not happy about any of it really. I mean, it's great that Dennis Leary got a nomination for "Rescue Me", because I love that show, but while they're acknowledging "Rescue Me", where is Callie Thorne's nomination?

Mostly I'm absolutely appalled and disgusted that "The Wire" has been entirely snubbed, and that "Friday Night Lights" has been mostly snubbed. In favour of fucking HEROES. And GREY'S ANATOMY. I just. Who in their right mind thinks either of those shows is great drama? Neither even fucking compares to "The Wire", which, as anyone who has watched it knows, is one of the, if not THE best dramas ever made.

The website Metacritic, which gathers reviews from published news sources and translates them into a percentage score, has assigned to The Wire's fourth season a weighted average score of 98%, the highest for any television show since Metacritic began tracking them in 2005.

~

In more positive news, I finally listened to the infamous Loveline show starring Michael Rosenbaum.

*dies of love*

I think it must have been built up too much or something, because I honestly didn't find it that bad. It didn't make me cringe and it didn't embarrass me at ALL. In fact, I thought Mike was delightful and funny and incredibly sweet. To be a big TV star and be that open and shameless really did make me love him quite desperately, and I get the impression that he is an extremely nice guy, even if he is a bit clueless about a lot of stuff.

romanyg, I totally agree with you that Mike is as straight and vanilla as they come, and I now also highly doubt that he would have had a homosexual experience. After chats with Melissa on the subject I would change my vote to Jensen.

No ranting from me today. Just a stupid (but fun) poll about the CW boys. WHOO. Your answers will reveal to me the kind of woman you are.

( A poll about four hot guys. )

~

Another thing I want to talk about is responding to comments. Not everyone is good at it, and there are many reasons why: not enough time; nothing to say; you read it and plan to respond later then you forget (that's always my excuse); other reasons I can't think of right now.

If I'm friends with someone and they don't respond to my comment I don't generally mind, unless it was really long and I felt that it deserved a response, or if they repeatedly ignore me. And I'd actually rather icon makers *not* respond to my comment, because it's not like I'm saying anything, I'm just telling them I'm taking one of their icons and thanks. So a response is always just, "Enjoy!" or whatever, which is boring and unnecessary. I'll probably forget if an author doesn't respond to my feedback (unless, again, it's really long), but if I notice that the author never responds to any feedback, I'll probably not bother leaving any because they do come across to me as if they don't appreciate it that much (which they might! But they're certainly not giving that impression to the general public).

But okay, so can anyone relate when I say that if I leave a comment on a post (that's not fic or icons) in a stranger's journal and they don't respond, I (might) feel some combination of the following:

1. They don't like my comment
2. They don't agree with my comment but don't wish to argue with me
3. They think I'm stupid
4. They dislike me

It's more likely that I'll think one of those things than that I'll think the person is rude, or busy or forgetful. Which I know is absurd but there it is.

Am I all alone?

What a weekend! Not counting Friday I spent it sober. Which is unusual for me.

My cousin has been in town since last Wednesday which is why I have been mostly MIA (I left the house yesterday and was a tourist for the day), popping into fandom occasionally to get sucked into wank against my will.

LE SIGH.

( So-Called Feminists... )

You’re probably all sick of me being ranty and serious about this shit aren’t you. But it’s hiatus! What the fuck else am I going to talk about if not all the morons in fandom?

PS. Go to my journal and see the little personalised icon in the address bar that girlmostlikely made for me. IT'S SO PERFECT. ♥

Fandom Wank loses. The latest post links to an amusing argument at a Dr Who forum in the David Tennant Love thread, where this troll turns up and says that DT was miscast because he looks like a "gaytard". DT fans are outraged and tell the troll how insulting that is and how he must be homophobic, and the troll is all, "How is that homophobic? He looks gay and like a retard. It's just an observation," etc etc, and basically the troll is much funnier than anyone else, and whilst rude about DT, isn't rude to the other posters, some of whom turn nasty in a decidedly unamusing fashion.

My first thought was: I agree with the troll. David Tennant does look like a gaytard.

But then I looked at all the comments on the FW post and everyone was pissed off at the troll and agreed that the word "gaytard" is offensive and not actually funny! WHAT THE HELL. Gaytard is nearly as good as gaylord or fagbot. I want a David Tennant icon saying "Gaytard" right now.

~

And now for a poll. The two parts of this poll have nothing to do with each other, but both subjects are up for discussion.

( Dudes fucking and WIPs. )

Hullo livejournal.

I have a small hangover today because I spent yesterday afternoon drinking and gossiping with toadstoolsmiles. It was so good to see her! She had me laughing my ass off all day. ♥

~

I may or may not have a crush on Nightwing.

~

I have added "het" to my list of interests, because most of the pairings I like seem to be het and most of the pairings I hate seem to be slash. I mean, I do love certain slash pairings (Clex, Fraser/RayK, Harry/Draco [shutup], Michael/Mahone), but generally I find it's a hard sell with me, and it's definitely not my default setting.

If the gay subtext isn't there in the canon I don't seem to be inclined to invent it myself. I also enjoy some male relationships that don't happen to involve anal sex and blowjobs (I know. It's crazy!). Friends, brothers, fathers and sons etc etc... I have discovered that strictly heterosexual boys can charm me just as much as occasionally gay heterosexual boys.

That said, I'm finding Deadwood quite slashy. Anyone else? Seth and Al would have great sex. I might be attracted to relationships that begin with mutual loathing due to opposing values, but then progress towards grudging respect, all because they're so helplessly attracted to each other's charisma. Yes.

I don't read a lot of het though, because it's often...um...terrible? I just read one story right now that almost put me off ever having sex again. It starred this woman who couldn't get enough of sex but was really ashamed of herself for her desperation to be fucked, and the guy basically treated her like a woman shaped hole for his cock, yet also like it was this huge burden to fuck her because she was so pathetic. And it was really creepy and abusive and gross and I think it was supposed to be hot? I don't even know, but I may never recover.

I should write another story soon. I miss Clex, so maybe Clex.

Because Clex is the ultimate slash pairing! And I think it's because you'd have to be blind not to see it, they're both really really hot and porny, and, as Becky pointed out to me yesterday, they actually had to tone down the rampant homoerotica after the first few seasons, because it was TOO gay. HAHAHAHA. Smallville wins again.

What the hell happened in 2002? Me and radioreverie MUST KNOW.

( The conversation. )

Please help us. Let's make a fandom timeline.

~

This conversation going on in my LJ between two complete strangers is amusing me immensely. I’d reply to poor Veronica with this icon:



But lil_itu is doing such a great job of insulting her, I've decided to leave them to it. *beams happily*

ETA. *koff* I take it back. I decided to get involved.

~

Tell me what pairings absolutely squick you, and why.

I generally hate incest pairings and not actually because I have a problem with incest fic per se – as long as it’s twisted and disturbing and wrong, I’m down with it (and can find it very hot). But happy, fluffy, romantic incest is so gross to me. I’m deeply squicked by Wincest, and while I don’t hate Nathan/Peter with the same intensity, I certainly don’t like them like I used to because much of the fandom has turned them into a twirling dancing OTP, which creeps me out.

There are lots of pairings I dislike/am confused by/find gross, like John/Rodney, Sam/Dean, Mohinder/Sylar, but it doesn’t really matter because I don’t or no longer watch the shows. I suspect when you’re a fan of a show, ship squicks will hit you much harder. I have discovered this, because the pairing that I think I hate the absolute most, the pairing that makes me shudder forever and ever, is House/Wilson.

OH GOD. I accidentally clicked on a link to a manip yesterday and I’m still traumatised. It was a PG manip, but they were being all romantic together! *cries and cries*

I have serious problems with House being slashed, I won’t lie. I have even more problems with House being turned into a woobie. I can’t even. House would NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS have sex with Wilson. And VICE VERSA. I would actually be interested in hearing a defence of this pairing; a convincing explanation as to why they’re secretly in love (other than that Wilson is House’s only friend).

I agree with this post.

This rant is aimed at a certain type of fangirl. (None of you flist, I'm hoping.)

( Step this way, whores. )

As promised, this is the follow up post to the poll on friending I did a few weeks ago, with commentary.

A staggering 620 people took the poll. Which makes me wish I'd got a little more input before posting it, because while I'm not bad at polling, I'm not brilliant at thinking in ways that aren't natural to me. So there were plenty of options missing unfortunately, but the comments themselves were as enlightening as the poll results. It was also suggested by a couple of people that perhaps not everyone taking the poll would be completely honest because the results are viewable to all. I had considered that, btw, but if you weren't honest, you're the one who has to live with LYING TO EVERYONE.

Besides, it's more fun when we're all on display, right?

( The results! )

It's my second LJ anniversary today. I've posted 771 times and I've made 16,009 comments and received 27,820. And here I thought I was good at responding to comments!

( An Ode to Fandom... )

I haven't posted in a while, and now that I have my internet back at home (BUT FOR HOW LONG?) there's no excuse not to I guess.

Uhm.

I'm 8 episodes into the forth season of "The Wire" and it continues to be the best show in existence. If "Heroes" beats it or "Friday Night Lights" (which I'm also rooting for) in the TV critics awards thingee, I will throw a tantrum. I wrote an email to my parents and my brother yesterday telling them to watch The Wire or else, but then my brother wrote back and said he told me about the show two years ago and said that it was about time I started listening to him. Then he said:

"Also, its the only TV show I know of where there has been documented cases of real life criminals copying the show (drug dealers in New York)."

HA!

Why is that so awesome? I tried to watch "The Shield" the other day but it was so horribly bad in comparison that I sent it back after barely making it through the pilot.

I feel boring.

Ooh! I do think that people who write to shows to tell them what to do or not to do are delusional. As much as I would love to rewrite all of Smallville and make it gayer and, you know, *good*, I can't imagine getting so irate that I would be all, MUST WRITE LETTER OF OUTRAGE THIS INSTANT.

Dear Smallville,

The whole world revolves around me and the things that I want and like. I'm surprised you weren't notified. Please fire the entire cast of the show except for Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum and have them do nothing but blow each other in every single episode from here on in. If you don't, I will be very upset and I may send more letters.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Yours sincerely,

mskatej

I never talk about friending because I consider it kind of a taboo topic for some reason. Everyone is different and has different reasons for friending/not friending people, and people who talk about it a lot can be…tiresome at best, wanky at worst.

Still, I think we’re all pretty interested in the subject, right? And I was asked to design a poll on friending, so I did. It’d be cool if you could pimp this.

( This way to the poll! )

Last week sucked so much. I had my first real “I hate fandom” experience. Or rather my first, “I hate all the utter cunts in fandom” experience, and I wanted to run away and never come back.

But that’s silly and I don’t really want to run away, so I am forcing myself to post.

( Chat about The Wire and Smallville and other stuff... )

If I could give out awards it would go like this:

Outstanding Achievement in Drama: “The Wire”
Outstanding New Programme: “Friday Night Lights”
Best Actor: Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”)
Best Actress: Callie Thorne (“Rescue Me”)
Most Attractive Actor In The World: Tom Welling (“Smallville”)

Now tell me yours! I promise I'll try not to judge you. Also, feel free to make up new categories.

I might actually die today. I met up with the super lovely nightchik and her delightful lil sister last night for drinks at my local then more drinks back at my place. I had too many drinks. I vaguely remember thinking I needed to throw up when I went to bed last night but I guess I must have passed out instead.

But yes! Fangirl fun was had and there was much laughter and gossip and offers to stay at her place when I visit America. Which will happen I promise. I was going to do NYC this year but I have to go home for Christmas because I haven't been home for a few years and I need to see my family, and Kirsten, and Rehana (who will have just given birth to her first child when I'm there. Normally kids aren't my thing but she's the first of my best friends to get knocked up and I'm surprisingly elated about it. I'M GONNA BE AN AUNTIE!). Going to New Zealand is very expensive, so I'm hoping *next* year I'll be able to arrange a US trip.

*

SV is downloaded but I will have to watch it tomorrow because I'm going out with tommy_chivs after work for more boozing. The thought of drinking again scares me, but I'm sure I'll be fine.

*

Things that are making me happy, despite being ill:

- I love that the Mary Jane figurine has scandalised fandom to the point that Fox News, Defamer, The New York Post and various other sites and publications are reporting on it. This has become so huge maybe things might actually have to change? I don't know much about comics, but I'm told that this kind of sexism is rampant and most of my comics fangirl friends have become desensitised to it. So while the statue doesn't particularly chap my butt, the reaction to it thrills me. I hope Marvel's face is BURNING RED right about now. Because it's not just the feminists in comics fandom that are aware of this problem. WE ALL KNOW NOW, MARVEL.

- Nandos for lunch.

*

I'm so bored. Work is very quiet and I want to be entertained. So here's a poll:

Poll #987087
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 111

Who's the most intelligent out of these hot guys?

Who's the dumbest?

Thank you to everyone who commented yesterday with recs. WOW. It will take me MONTHS to get through all of them and I'm really excited about it. How to approach this task though... do I work my way through each comment in the order I got them, or do I file the fics by fandom and gorge on one fandom at a time (saving SV for last, of course, just because)? If you didn't get around to contributing yesterday, please feel free to add to the reading list - Mulitfandom recs people! The flist's favourite ever fics! Fun for *everyone*!!

Dear This Person Here Who Was Mean About Clex,

Screw you. We're not morons and just because you hate shipping people based on their looks doesn't make you deep, it makes you weird. Also, Clex might be hotasses, but they're also an *interesting pairing* for MILLIONS of reasons. I am deeply offended by your stupid post.

Yours in disgust,

Kate

*

Now!

I was out with my friend Hilary and her friend Emilene last night and we played this game they made up called "Shouldn't but would". This is where you name famous people that you shouldn't be attracted to, but you totally would have sex with them. I'm actually really bad at thinking of guys I shouldn't but would with, but Emilene did name a couple that I was like... YES OMG.

- Simon Cowell (*dies of shame*)
- Gary Barlow, from Take That (a lot of you will have no idea who he is, but trust me, that's embarrassing)

It is now your turn to shame yourselves.

And then you can redeem yourself by telling me how cool shipping Clex is. GO!

I am never going to feel bad about objectifying or fetishizing hot men. I don’t care if some people out there think I’m a bad person for doing so. I don’t care if “hot men” in general get offended because I’m stripping them of their humanity. I don’t care if you or anyone else thinks I’m “sexist” because I enjoy hardcore gay porn.

*

Fans who talk about their celebrity crush as if they know them personally are lame and embarrassing, especially the ones who've met them in the flesh and mention that in arguments as if it actually means something.

That said, Tom Welling has a massive cock and he likes kinky sex, and I’ll debate with anyone who dares to disagree with me or question how I know that.

*

Women who say they’re not feminists because they’re afraid of what the word means annoy the ever living shit out of me. If you’re a woman and you’re NOT a feminist, you need to start re-evaluating your entire fucking life, seriously.

*

They’re making a movie of Sex and the City and I’m miserable about it. The final episode of the show is the best ending ever, one of my favourite ever episodes of television, and it couldn’t be more awesome than that. To make the movie interesting they’re going to have to fuck with all the relationships and probably break some of them up and that terrifies me. All four of the girls ended up with who I wanted them to end up with and in my head they live happily ever after. WHY WOULD THEY MESS THAT UP? (Money, obviously, the greedy bastards.)

*

Religious people who demand that their bigotry/stupid beliefs be "respected" because it's part of their "faith" can fuck off and die.

*

SO.... What chaps your butt?

Thank you serenography, romanyg and txtequilanights for my lovely valentines. I ADORE YOU GUYS.

Also, thanks to everyone who loved on me in Madelyn's super amazing Valentine's Day Game. Reading your messages was a really wonderful way to start my day and it means so much to me. Anyway, if you haven't already you should go and see if your name's in there.

And now for some fun. POLL-STYLE. Please be as honest as possible so you don't screw up my data.

( Come poll with me. )

Trolling.

I feel unusual today. I just trolled Maria’s new sockpuppet, markclexer.

The only other person I’ve ever trolled was another trolling sockpuppet (whose name I can never mention in public again) but that didn’t make me feel quite so dirty. What freaks me out the most is that I think Maria’s actually...enjoying herself. Also, I wish she’d stop using Becky’s kitty. THAT BELONGS TO BECKY.

Have any of you ever trolled anyone? If so, when, who and why?



I feel sad today. Clark and Lex shared the slashiest scene we’ve had for about two seasons and I still can’t stop thinking about it even though I find it hard to re-watch because it makes me cry. It just hurts so *good* because it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that they still love each other. No matter what they *say*. You don’t go to somebody’s barn and personally ask them to your wedding if they don’t matter anymore. You don’t DO THAT. Also, you don’t stand that close and you don’t stare into each other’s eyes (I need to watch it again to confirm, but I’m pretty sure Lex stares at Clark’s mouth at one point, which is just HOT) if they mean nothing to you. IT DOESN’T HAPPEN. *breaks down*

And then I wrote sad angsty fic which is unusual for me and that’s also making me feel weird.

If you’d like to explain to me exactly why Clark and Lex love each other so much that would make my day a whole lot better.