Much awesome, with inflatable Titanics and other links

[misscam]

Awesome weekend!

- Tromsø, my darling team, won their match 4-0 and is still third in the league - if they win the match they had postponed they will be second. I'm trying very hard not to get excited and failing. Must remind myself there is still a lot of the season left, even if we're past halfway.
- Shiny Amazon package with Sarah Jane Adventures, Top Gear specials, Hogfather and Razor arrived. Mmm. Shinies.
- I finished "Far More Trouble (aka Five Time Bill Adama Got Laid and One Time Lee Probably Did)" and sent to beta. Yes, it is almost as much sex in it as it sounds like and a bit more introspection than it sounds like. falena84 even made me this icon to encourage it.
- New LJ header! misscam Because Adama and Roslin have eaten by brain, yes. skybound2 was kind enough to make it for me :)
- BSG wrap-up video posted with some screencaps and POTENTIAL SPOILERS LIKE WHOA. Also, POTENTIAL AWESOME AND HEARTBREAK LIKE WHOA. Now we just need the new trailer and, you know, new episodes.
- My World of Warcraft guild downed Kaz'rogal the first time we tried him and it was sweeter than sweet. (We haven't been doing Mount Hyjal of late, focusing more on Black Temple and summer holidays.) We had a go at next one (Azgalor) and got him to 36% in first go, and then it was bedtime so we're going after him again tonight. We get him, Archimonde is the next target. Eee Archimonde. Also, I've been promoted to Raid Leader in my guild now. Eeek, scary.

I seriously went to bed with the most awesome glee on Sunday and of course was then faced with a pile of work Monday morning. That's life for you.

Links o'interest:

- For 9000 USD, you too can own a Titanic inflatable slide. (Larger image here.) I'm not sure if I'm appalled or amused, actually. Titanic inflatable slide. Okay!
- A post arguing why Steven Moffat is not a misogynist, with debates in the comments. Hmm. Seems to be the topic for discussion at the moment in Doctor Who fandom. I'm just hoping people can have a sane debate about it without making it derail into shipwars and grudges and all that blues.
- This story about a team scoring on itself to advance in a Cup cracks me the hell up. They then went on to defend the opposing team's goal. Gotta love some of the crazy things you find on Snopes.
- Norway had a solar ecplise. It was only partial here, but still something to see.
- Also in Norway, lightning strikes over 50 people. (!!!)
- One killed in French mini-tornado. (!!!)
- Still no interest in Twilight, but reading the reviews over at Amazon is a bit fun. Seems very divided into either deep hate or deep love. The hype for it probably plays in there. Anyone on my flist read it yet and willing to divulge an opinion?

Anything awesome going on with you?

Comments

[ice-feather.livejournal.com]

I read the first fifty pages of Twilight and I've still had no desire to pick it up and read the rest. I regret paying for it. I really should have tried to borrow it from the library because then I wouldn't feel like I have to try and slog my way through the remaining 400 + pages. If you do check it out; hire it out. Don't pay for it straight off like I did because it seems to be a real "marmite" book.

I just wanted some decent new fantasy to read, and being disappointed in Twilight isn't filling me with hope, because I was disappointed in the fantasy book I tried before that too (City of Bones by Cassandra Clare). I'm really losing faith in the newer published authors, even though I want to support them.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm not going to read it. I'm not that interested, and truthfully, the teenage aspect makes it unlikely to interest me. But given how people seem to either hate it or love it, I'm just currious what my flist in general thinks.

Those who aren't like me and avoiding it, heh.

I haven't found really good new fantasy in a while myself, though I enjoy Naomi Novik, I don't totally love it.

[fried-flamingo.livejournal.com]

I read it a few days ago and it's definitely a page turner with a dak, sexy hero (although I need to keep reminding myself he's only supposed to be 'seventeen' ;)).

The thing that worried me about the story was the balance of the relationship between Edward and Bella. It's a very controlling relationship, with Bella submitting to Edwards will throughout the book - not for any supernatural, vampirey reasons. Just because he's, like, so dreamy and she's, like, totally in love with him. It's almost to the point of a parent child relationship. It didn't strike me as a healthy message for the teenage girls at which the books is aimed.

That said, if read with a knowing eye, it's enjoyable enough.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

It's not uncommon to have that sort of relationship when you're a teenager. But I'm not sure I'd say teeange love is always to be held up as something totally healthy and great.

I think I've seen pictures of whoever is going to play Edward in the movies (?) and did nothing for me. But then, I am not a teenager.

[fried-flamingo.livejournal.com]

Yeah I'm not overly enamoured with the bloke they've got playing him. In the novel he's supposed to have this breathtaking beauty and I just see that in the guy they've cast.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Mmm. The thing about breathtaking beauty is also that isn't not always necessarily a turn-on for me. It can become too perfect, like a marble statue and just leave me cold. Inperfection is hotter.

[fried-flamingo.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, definitely. I think 'breathtaking beauty' can take many forms, even with imperfections.

Johnny Depp, I find breathtaking, but mainly because I think there's something unique about him. He doesn't have perfect teeth though and I think i'd be really sad if he ever did get his teeth fixed because then it would be this false perfection, if tat makes any sense.

IN the novel I think Edwards 'beauty' is supposed to have this ethereal quality, rather than have anything to do with him being a perfect specimen of masculinity or anything like that. It's an otherwordly beauty which is an idea that enamoured me.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Ah, like Elves in Tolkien's world. Yeah, I rather liked that when (like still, I guess) I was younger. But it is a sort of thing I admire rather than be attracted to, if that makes sense?

[karma-kalisutah.livejournal.com]

Funny you should say that. Edward IS a marble statue, essentially. His skin is described as cold and hard as rock. And this is supposed to be sexy.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Erm. Okay. To each their own taste, I guess. I like marble on my stairs, but I'm not sure I'd want it in my bed.

[denorios.livejournal.com]

An inflatable Titanic slide? *boggles* Why? Why would anyone create such a thing? Talk about bad taste...

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, I think the answer to that is just 'because no one else had yet'.

[lotus79.livejournal.com]

Downloaded the wrap video this morning, but had to wait til after school to watch and squee, hehe. But omg, Lee's hair! It's like "Ace RimmerLee Adama - Space Adventurer!" *wants that on an icon now*

Kara's hair got pretty long, too. Not sure I like. And Lee's in a flight suit again! :D

Pictures were nice, but I STILL WANT ME THAT TRAILER NOW PLSKTHXBYE!

[misscam.livejournal.com]

I have to wait until after work. Woe! But I heard the video seem to indicate one character dying, and falena84 has a theory one someone else snuffing it. And of course there's the spoiler that yet another one dies, so dude, bloodbath. (And why are Adama and Roslin in a raptor on their own, inquiring minds want to know.)

I totally thought of Ace Rimmer too! I think it's the fact that the jacket is a bit shiny on Lee too, though not as much. And the hair. Get Elisa to make you an icon of it :P

YES. WITH THE SNOGGING PLEASE.

[lotus79.livejournal.com]

Well the character we see covered in blood might just be bleeding, ya know. Various speculations I've read don't find it compelling evidence given other factors (could I be any vaguer?)

Glad it wasn't just me, I actually had to look twice! Shiny jacket, that must be it.

You have to wait too? Aww. Seen many pics? here's some and here's more and even more

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Unvague me in a PM or IM I can read when I get home :P

Oooh, more pics. Seen some of those, but not all, so thanks.

And I just have to mention how lovely I find this pic. Someone make a pretty icon of that.

Damn, I want to be home already.

[lotus79.livejournal.com]

I was going to unvague you, but then I kinda forgot all my reasons. Oh well. I think I explained a little (not very well) on falena84's post.

Your new layout is nice, yes. I need minions so I can get a new layout, heh. Or time, so I can do one for myself.

Well, I put in my app to keep my job for next year. Frakked it up completely by misreading the closing date as Friday when it was in fact yesterday at 3:30pm. Discovered this yeseday at 12pm, and thus had to write a 5 page essay on the selection criteria *and* update and expand my resume to 3 pages... in 3 and a half hours. There are no words, really. I did submit something, and it was almost the required length... but I fear to read it over because I do not know wtf I said. It was undoubtedly embarassingly awful. (Does that sentence need more adverbs? No? Sure?)

Just cos I am a Drama teacher doesn't mean my life should be one giant idiotic drama, does it? On the bright side, I had expected to be working hard on that app all day today and I now have an unexpectedly open schedule.

Aaargh! Catch ya later tonight when you get home, babe.

Also...

[lotus79.livejournal.com]

...couldn't help thinking through that whole debacle yesterday: why can't I write fanfic on demand like this? Because omg, I wrote five pages in three hours! Why can't I do that without evil deadline impetus and thus have time to proofread and edit? Am I wrong in the head, or what?

[misscam.livejournal.com]

You didn't quite make sense to me, but you can explain it later :P

Write more porn, that usually earns one minions.

Awww. :( Sucks when shit like that happens. I have nightmares about getting deadlines wrong, seriously. But hey, you got it done, and that's the main thing, right? Even awful is better than none, and it might not be as bad as you feared. And free time is nice.

I suspect fanfic can't be written on demand like that because you can't get the same urgency on it whatever you do. Can't fool your brain - it knows it doesn't have to.

Yes, I'll be home around 5ish my time hopefully. My brain is a bit dead from Archimonde raid yesterday, but I can make sympathetic grunts still (probably).

[trialia]

*grimace* Oh, Twilight. I won't post this on my journal because it is my utterly unvarnished opinion and I know some people on my flist are fans, but... PUBLISHED BADFIC. Seriously. I picked it up at the library and within the first ten pages I was cringing. As for the relationship between Edward and Bella... that is a terrible dynamic to give to teenage girls as an example of a claimed healthy relationship (it is NOT).

Glittery vampires? I ask you... but don't answer me. =P

Sorry about the lack of graphics from my direction. I am being bombarded with deadlines and events at present, haven't even had time to make a coherent LJ post about my August's first summer camp yet (the second starts on Monday).

I am looking forward to that fic though. By hook or by crook, I'll find time to read it... probably on my mobile at camp, sigh. Though the new default skin for Survival Instinct won't let me log in from my phone to read M/MA fic, worse luck.

Now... I have to go TRY to finish my makelaurahappy fic in time to get it to a beta and back by Wednesday's deadline. ARGH!

[misscam.livejournal.com]

The sparkling vampires seem to be what leaves the most impact on people who've just heard of the books and not read, heh. Gotta give it to the author for making it memorable, I guess.

No worries - am sort of semi-busy myself up to September.

Er, yeah, it will be M rated, but it will be posted to my LJ too. And it's not like it'll go away if it can't be read right away ;)

Good luck! - I've had mad deadlines as a journalist, so know the feeling.

[blue-moon-ice.livejournal.com]

Twilight is like Degrassi to me. Degrassi is a show at a Canadian highschool and a new problem faces the kids in every episode. Its full of bad acting and storylines, but you cant stop watching it because its that bad. Then you end up watching all the episodes ever made, because even tho they are horrible actors, you feel like you know them and must know the rest of the story.

Twilight... Im not sure if I would say that the writing is bad, or there is just too much of it or her storylines just need to stop. Bella is the over played damsel in distress and Edward, her knight in shining armor. The amount of times he rescues her is kind of mind boggling. But, the entire thing is soooo bad, you cant put it down. The author had a good idea, but she did not rope it in enough.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Heh. Reminds me of rewatching some of the stuff I liked when I was a teen - now it's entertaining for all different reasons than it was back then.

[keskt.livejournal.com]

Twilight is like someone wrote bad fanfic and published it. I read shitty books so I'm not even trying to be snobby- that's just what it is. I read the first two books and honestly really wasnt hooked at all, but I can see why some get into it (lots of people love it like crack be are totally aware that the writing is shit.) However, I read the plot summary for this last book and it's just... lulz. Really horrible lulz.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

I read romance novels now and then, so I won't lecture anyone on their choice of books. But yeah, the plots do sound cracktastic like whoa.

[siraj.livejournal.com]

Hmm... awesomeness... well, I dinged 13 last night and I'm about to proceed into the Barrens for the first time... after my auctions finish up in Thunder Bluff, that is. Unfortunately, I have to work today, tomorrow and Wednesday. Wah.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Thunder Bluff is nice. It's my favourite horde town. Mulgore is pretty pretty too, though I find Silvermoon Forest a bit prettier as starting areas go.

Work is evil.

[siraj.livejournal.com]

Well, I started as Tauren, so... yeah. The only reason I'll ever make an alt is to hold onto my money so I'm not tempted to spend it...

Work is very evil.

[myhobbitpippin.livejournal.com]

I loved th first three tiwilight books. It wasnt necesarily obsession worthy but they were fun to read. I'm on about page 500 of Breaking Dawn and absolutly hate it. I'd suggest reading the first one because it was actually really a fun read. Just...stop with Eclipse.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Interesting how many people who enjoyed the first books seem to hate the last one. Hmm.

[theyellow-daisy.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on the Titanic slide. What the heck?! It is very amusing though.

I think the Moffat situation has kind of gotten out of hand now, and his comments about Rose have been taken way to personally by some people. It's not a secret that he doesn't like Rose, but I don't think he should have said it at all. I was at Comic Con when he made those comments about her being clingy, and they weren't well received at all. So that's the only thing that makes me feel better about it. This whole Moffat hate thing, is like the new ship wars or something.

I read the first Twilight book, just to read it, but I'm not in any hurry to get the second one. It wasn't bad, but it certainly wasn't good writing either. The ending did get better though, so that gives me some hope for later in the series.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Mmm. See, I agree that misogynist often gets thrown about a bit when people really mean sexism. I do think it's possible to make sexist remarks without being a misogynist, and society has a heck of a lot of sexism we just unconsciously absorb and sometime express. And this Moffat discussion is clearly not just about sexism, but also about people wanting and liking different things in the show, and yeah. I'm not sure it's a discussion that would ever end well at all.

I wasn't at ComicCon and second-hand retelling is just that, so I'm not sure how to read his comments. (Some say joke, some don't...) But I did twitch a bit on reading what was said, and I do like his writing and I'm not looking for excuses to dislike him or some such.

[kippurbird.livejournal.com]

So far Bella, the Heroine, has turned out to be the most idiotic, passive character I've seen in a long time. She has the required Love At First Sight with the guy who's only characteristic appears to be that he's unbelievingly beautiful. Edward, the guy, keeps on telling her to stay away from him because he is Teh Dangerous but then keeps on hanging around her.

For Bella's part she thinks things like "Gee I know he's Dangerous but OHMIGAWD I CAN'T STAND THE THOUGHT OF NOT BEING NEAR HIM EVEN THOUGH I AUTOMATICALLY BELIEVE THIS KID THAT HE'S A VAMPIRE AND WEREWOLVES EXIST!!!!1!1!1 Bella has all the self-preservation skills of a suicidal lemming. Oh she also has the "Klutzy" flaw.

So, as others have commented, think of this as "Legomance" with Legolas as a vampire. Who really isn't a vampire.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

"Legomance" with Legolas as a vampire.

I've read that in LotR fanfic already, heh.

[mad-troll.livejournal.com]

So, as others have commented, think of this as "Legomance" with Legolas as a vampire. Who really isn't a vampire.

I soSOSO agree with this review.

Saving point: Meyer seems to know the Spell Check device.
Only saving point.

[rivrea.livejournal.com]

I don't feel like getting into the "Is Steven Moffat misogynist or just sexist?" debate right now. In brief, I tend to think that both the author of the OP and some of the critical commenters make several valid points, but this whole topic is just wank waiting to happen.

I say that as someone who does like the thought that Teh Moff will be taking over. I just don't think he will deliver us from the evils of sexism in the media. Only maybe from the evils of plotless season finales. And now I'll stop before I'm right in the middle of the whole debate which I'm trying to avoid.

If you're interested in "Twilight", I (and the magical InterNet fairies) might be able to help you out...

[misscam.livejournal.com]

In brief, I tend to think that both the author of the OP and some of the critical commenters make several valid points, but this whole topic is just wank waiting to happen.

Yesh, I have the same sort of impulse there. I mean, the world is not black and white and it's possible to be right and wrong at the same time, you know? Not to mention sometimes there is no right, just different points of view.

Hee. No, I don't actually want to read it. I find the bruhahaha around it a bit amusing, yeah. But I'm more interested in reactions than the books themselves, if that makes sense.