Saturday, March 16, 2002

Apocaliptica, Inquisition Symphony. Finns with cellos, playing heavy metal.

My mother knows this state solicitor. This state solicitor is wonderfully eclectic in his musical tastes, as is his son, who introduced him to the band. I'm beginning to love this guy, and I've never even -met- him. Heh.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:25 AM |

Oh, rats. That game was Homeworld Cataclysm, not Homemade Cataclysm. Personally, I think Homemade might be more fun.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:42 AM |

Mm, wedding feasts! *Grin* One of my pet traditions, part of my yet-to-be-written thesis on People, Food, And Sex. I'm watching the Food Network's special on Great Feasts of The Bible and Recipies of Ancient Times, and while I'm not really learning anything new, it's still interesting.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:34 PM |

*Pokes* *Pokes again* *Jabs* *Gets nothing but silence, glares, and exasperated 'Do you MIND's*

Bah. Annoying boys. *Glowers, pokes and lurks* *Or Something* *Will be going car-shopping soon, anyhow.*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 1:51 PM |

Okay, I changed the template. And I changed it to a layout I made all by myself, yay! Granted, the graphics aren't mine, but that's the way it goes. At least until I get my hands on a copy of Adobe's image-editing software that's going for 100 bucks... I can't remember what it's called, at the moment.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:11 PM |

I. Kick. Ass.

On nothing more than intuition, a remembered suggestion from X re: the VALIGN="TOP" part of table tags, and my own half-blind fumblings with blogger tags, I created this template and cleaned up all the bugs. Now all I have to do is change the link colors and try to decide if I want to change A) text color and B) the order of link categories to the right, there.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:15 PM |

Oh, and we have a new car. A -very- new car: a Saturn Vue. It's _lovely_, it's everything my mother has -ever- wanted in a car (okay, SUV), -and- it fits in the garage.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:19 PM |

Friday, March 15, 2002

What is it about home-made chocolate chip cookies that make them The Ultimate Cookie? Is it the combination of salty-sweet, or the chocolate? Is it the fact that they were made with care, or at least with the thought that the time and effort that went into them would be appreciated, if not love? Or is it just that the recipie is perfect, and there's simply no way to improve it?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:29 AM |

You know, one of my nightmares involves having to take Yasminda and Toulouse to the vet at the same time. Fortunately for all of us, Toulouse's eye seems to be just fine, so Ev and I do not have to juggle the two of them, yay.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:36 AM |

It's funny. When people on various Animal Planet TV shows carry on about how their dog is a member of the family, I always think 'well, -DUH-.'. Then I have to remind myself that not -everyone- feels that way, even people that own dogs. (Of course, I also think that anyone that doesn't feel that way about a dog they own shouldn't -have- the dog, but I'm odd that way.)
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:39 AM |

I _love_ the intro for Kaze-wa Mirai-Ni Fuku... It reminds me of the intro to One Touch by Stabbing Westward, but more...cheerful, or something. Definitely less synth-heavy, though I like the intro for One Touch, too. That blooping, bubbly noise makes me think of whales and jellyfish. And Neets, but not because he makes those sorts of noises. *Snicker*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:35 AM |

There's some bird outside making strange noises. I thought it might have been an eagle, then I thought it was a magpie, and now I have no idea what it is.

Yesterday, there were a couple of ravens in the top of a spruce tree in our back yard. One of them had a stale hotdog bun (that I'd tossed out for them), and was feeding bits of it to the other. Then, the one that was being fed flew off to perch in the tip-top of a spruce across the street, just two trees down from where a bald eagle was roosting, surveying his domain... Then, the raven with the bun flew by -- past the eagle -- turned around, and chased the eagle off, yelling... while still holding on to the bun. Smug, he came back and perched in the tree where the eagle had been, settling in to eat the rest of his prize. Unfortunately, about three and a half seconds after landing, he lost his grip and the bun plummeted thirty or forty feet down to the ground. Oh well.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:29 PM |

Oooh... I, at least, wanna see more. This is a _spiffy_ beginning. *Nodnod*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 8:44 PM |

Ev and I have gotten my mother hooked on Miles and Company. Hee! Today at lunch, she went out and bought her very own copy of A Civil Campaign and Borders of Infinity. She also has Komarr, Brothers In Arms, and Falling Free; she wants Young Miles, Mirrordance, and will eventually read Cetaganda. She finished Memory last night...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:19 PM |

Tikka and Vis are being...quiet. *Pokes them* Maybe I should do VL/T reaction first and see what I get from them in the way of story-bits before I try writing the 'fic... *Ponder* In other news, I discovered that I thought of the following all by my self:

blueberries --
blueberry sauce
blueberry jam
blueberry custard
blueberry syrup
blueberry muffins
blueberry pie
blueberry scones
blueberry waffles
blueberry pancakes
blueberry cheesecake
blueberry cheesecake ice cream
blueberry ice cream
blueberry yogurt
blueberry preserves
blueberry marmalade
blueberry blintzes
blueberry jelly
blueberry bread
blueberry picking
blueberry stains
blueberry gum -- veruca salt --
blueberry time
blueberry bushes
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:23 PM |

I'm working on updating the K/A soundtrack, which wasn't on my list but oh well.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:23 PM |

If I Fall -- Dixie Chicks
Snow Is Softly Falling -- Nightnoise
Still In Love With You -- Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
I'm Not Sleepy -- Chris Isaak
Talkin' 'Bout A Home -- Chris Isaak
If Lovin' You Is Wrong -- Faithless
500 Miles -- Proclaimers
Heart Like A Doll -- Color Theory

-- K/A sndtk, so far, anyhow. Some of the songs have to be modified for the appropriate gender, and the whole fact that most of the songs are performed on instruments that don't exist in their time needs to be ignored... Along with the telephone reference in I'm Not Sleepy.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:28 PM |

Okay, I give up. Scrubby, did I _ever_ send you -anything- resembling Tikka kissing/trying to kiss Marc, and Marc telling him that as flattered as he is, as cute and wonderful as Tikka is, he's got something going that he doesn't want to spoil, and ends up telling Tikka that he's with Victor? Because I _swear_ by all that's holy I wrote that scene, taking place in a hotel somewhere, somewhen, but I canNOT for the life of me remember where I saved it or what I called it... I'm afraid that I wrote it and then -deleted- it. If I did, I am going to be sooooooo pissed...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:34 PM |

Incantatum Dispellus!

The His Dark Materials Trilogy is -not- like Harry Potter. This series is not for children with the added benefit of having elements enjoyed by adults. This series is not for people looking for light, funny fantasy. This series is not for anyone that likes a lot of long, drawn-out battles and characters that don't do/change much between page one and page 1501.

What -is- HDM? Well... Dark, religious, sacreligious, heretical, funny in places, beautifully written (I mean, beautifully, right up there with Ellen Kushner and Neil Gaiman), paced just right, magical, mysterious, and absolutely sink-its-claws-in-to-your-marrow gripping. Twisty, twisted, sweet and scary; amazing and satisfying and deeply cool.

I can't remember where I read it, but someone said they weren't going to read HDM because it was a kid's book. It's -not-. It's sort-of a young-adults trilogy, and I'll bet that's where a lot of people are going to put it (and that's where I found it at Borders), but it's got a lot of historical references -- of a sort, more in a sec -- that I don't know that today's kids would really enjoy it. Even if you don't normally read YA books, give HDM a try, because -wow- is it not a "kid's" book.

Yes, it has talking animals, yeah, it has shapeshifty manifestations of souls, yeah it has children as the protagonists and adults as antagonists, yeah there are witches and gypsies and scholars and clerics, but Phillip Pullman manages to weave the elements together in such an unconventional manner that he blows every -other- talking-animal-child-hero plot out of the water. It does have -a few- things in common with HP, though: A) the world and the characters are quite well-rounded and -developed; B) it makes me feel like I could turn a corner, find a window, and slip into the world of the characters, and C) it's tightly written, so the action just blooms across the mind's eye like ink spilled in still water.

Historical References: the world in which the story starts is much like our own circa... oh... late 1500s to mid 1700s, I think, with The Church being the be-all end-all of philosophical and theological studies, with other ideas being seen as heresy... I'd say more, but I don't want to spoil anything. Anyhow, if you haven't figured it out, it's gorgeous and I love it. Yum

Go. Read. Enjoy.

Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:15 PM |

Also? The magic in Harry Potter and in His Dark Materials is VERY, -very-, _very_ different. As are the witches.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:16 PM |

Hee! My domain name is available. And no, I'm not telling what it is, because someone else will probably snag it. But it's a good one, no doubt about it.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:55 PM |

Thursday, March 14, 2002

I love clicking in random links on Japanese pages. I never know what I'm going to get... Usually, I get lists of links to other pages, with names like 'Another Heavan' or 'Emirin's House' or 'Himuka Search'.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 7:44 AM |

Well, being the odd little weasel that I am, I misread the directions, subsequently misinterpreted them, and caused myself to get tossed out of the endoscopy clinic. Well, sort-of... Since I ate, they (in their infinite wisdom) chose not to risk my aspirating my own vomit and told me to reschedule. The nurse -did- say that I wasn't the first one to have been confused by the directions -- apparently they've been having problems for months. So I go back in two weeks, during Spring Break. At least I don't have to worry about missing class or Mme. Jean...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 7:35 PM |

Wednesday, March 13, 2002

You know, it's not just that I want to indulge in evil capitalistic urges and conspicuously consume brand-new items that have been mass-produced for everyone's pleasure. I have shareware stuff I'd like to pay for, and I have some online causes I'd like to support, both wholly worthwhile for the whole world (EFF, R+, Heifer Int'n'l) and those that are wholly worthwhile for their entertainment value (Strange Candy, MegaTokyo, etc.). Plus, I'd really, really, REALLY like to get rid of the ads in Eudora, and Opera makes a pretty spiffy browser. So it's not just that I want to support giant corporations, but little guys, too.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:40 AM |

Hm. Toulouse is under my bed, with Yasminda lying nearby, and the two of them are behaving relatively nicely. We'll see how long it lasts.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:45 AM |

I'm hoping that if I write down my projects and goals for the rest of this week/weekend I'll get most things done After number one, everything else is pretty much in no particular order.

1) Japanese homework. Or Else.
2) Laundry
3) Clean up room, including but not limited to Doing SOMEthing with CDs; small bookcase; clothes.
4) Call C and make an appointment for a trim!!
5) Mess with tape player in car -- see if CD player will fit in slot; call/look around for faceplate replacement information
6) Clean inside of windshield. Or Else.
7) Check on old ZipDisks for more Letters and Other Stuff long since forgotten about
8) Work on stereo in room -- find speaker wire and see about hooking tape player to amp
9) Put artwork and other papers in filing cabinet, straighten up shelves over computers
10) Call ACS/GCI/anyone else and find out about broadband costs
11) Call/look online for PCI ethernet cards for (old) Macs
12) See about decanting MP3s from Fiach to (as yet unnamed) Wintel Box, and/or moving some MP3s to Fiach
13) Update Konamasi Krushers Booster Club Page(s) -- Rookies, donations needed, fundraisers
14) Write 'The Blueberry Holiday', consider other stories (sweet!Dom; evil!Tikka; whatever else I come up with), update KSlash
15) Name Wintel Box
16) Write! More M/V; more M/V/T; revise M/V's First Story (I was rereading last night and good God, why didn't anyone TELL me I was mangling the tense six ways from Sunday? *Blink* Or did you, and I just brushed you off?)
17) Write! K/A: finish Smut, finish Solstice, try to decide on Further Adventures
18) Mercy and Grace?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:07 AM |

Oh, and -somewhere- in there, I want to 19) Change this template.

Okay, off to do my homework. Whee.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:09 AM |

Also? I got my tests back from Dr. Dunscomb. We're graded on a 5-point scale, and I got two 4.1s and a 3.8. Much, MUCH better than my _last_ set of test questions, yay!
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:12 AM |

You know, I really. don't. CARE about the problems associated with menopause as they affect people like Patti Labelle and Lauren Hutton. Okay? And it's funny how they didn't bother to change the script from one commercial to the other... *Grumple*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:19 AM |

*Avoids homework* *Pokes at the template* H'lo? *Is almost -done-, actually...* So why aren't I finishing? I don't know. Old habits and all that... Well, that and there seems to be something wrong with Toulouse's right eye. Hmm.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:49 AM |

You know, when I -think- I have technology whipped and bending to my will, it sneaks around behind me and bites me on the ankle, then snickers nastily. In other words, yes, I _finally_ fixed the imood code. Sigh.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:01 PM |

Tuesday, March 12, 2002

S'funny. I can have great gobs of scientific detachment from some things -- severe injuries in animals, watching Toulouse mess with a mouse -- and get highly emotional over others -- people that hit animals with their cars, ferinstance, and don't. Fucking. Stop.

I never said it was -healthy-, or -normal-, but at least it's an advantage when it comes to being a vet tech.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 3:12 AM |

Handbasket Emporium -- Pretty little words your body can swing to.

Bizarrely enough, this version can be seen in NetScape. There is absolutely no evidence given in the sourcecode for IE-Only compatibility, which makes the whole thing even more strange. *Blinkle* I really shouldn't try to solve Mysteries Of Technology in the middle of the night.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 3:29 AM |

Y'know, Med4Home people, you start off with your commercial asking one thing, and end it saying something completely different. I doubt you care, though.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:26 AM |

Toulouse's idea of what people like and my idea of what people like are very, very different. For instance, a half-dead mouse in one's bed at 4:30 AM is _not_ my idea of Something Wonderful, while -she- thought it was a perfectly wonderful situation. It wasn't any nicer at 4:35; 4:40, or 4:45, when the mouse finally, mercifully, expired. Fortunately, the mouse did -not- crawl under my blankets to hide under/against me, for which I was inordinately grateful.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:31 AM |

Big Daddy is -not- a "Movie Event". It's -schlock-. It's not even _good_ schlock. Bleah. USA is the Crap channel, isn't it?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:53 AM |

Marc, Vic, and Tikka are being Evil. *Giggle* I'll have more evidence in a minute or three.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:01 PM |

Mmm, new NIN album.

Boo, no money.

Schluuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp...schlllllllllllschlerpshkushhhhhhhhhherrrrrrrrrp <-- sound of Shan's job-hunting skills. If she were a hunter-gatherer, she'd be kicking seventeen kinds of ass. She should also learn to budget, pester the people that owe her money for it, and to stop whining. Also, not speaking about herself in whatever person this is would be a good thing.

But I wrote some Marc/Tikka/Vic, with more in the works, 'cause Mari is Evil and Funny. *Nodnod*
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:53 PM |

And here it is! Marc, Victor, And Tikka Spend A Nice Quiet Evening At Home.. If they show up, the angle brackets around 'darling' and 'sweetling' are there to denote that I didn't take the time to A) look up Suomean equivilents or B) make something up. If they don't show up, just pretend, okay? Also: this bit contains no real smut, but it's implied! *Snerk* *Ahem* Anyhow... Enjoy, Or Something.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:59 PM |

*Grin* If the name 'Kel' is familiar to you, yes, she -is- _that_ Kel.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:05 PM |

You know, it's edging on four years since the Krushers came into existance. *Blinkblink* Where the -hell- did the time go?
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:32 PM |

Monday, March 11, 2002

Dear SlimFast:

"Do it real, make it true"? What does that _mean_?
Terribly puzzled and incredibly disinclined to support you at all,
Shan
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:45 AM |

Does anyone else make up words for theme songs that don't have them? Granted, I only have the last words for the theme to That's My Baby (those very words, in fact), but still...
Posted by: Shannon M.: 11:00 AM |

Shock-a-lot. So _that_ is how you pronounce 'Chocolat'. *Snort* *Scowl* Idiots.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:10 PM |

I gotta go... Errands to run, people to kill, dictators to blame... Okay, not really. But I do have to go.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:11 PM |

Mmph. I got so thoroughly distracted by The Conscience of the King that I forgot to do my homework for Japanese. Oops.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 9:20 PM |

Sunday, March 10, 2002

More K/A Solstice. Yet more proof that when I'm sleepy, I write sleepy. Or that writing sleepy makes me sleepy. Either way, it can be inconvenient.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:08 AM |

Two things before I go to bed: 1) Blogger seems to be having trouble remembering my FTP password in the Posts screen. It had no problems with BlogThis. 2) If you change your email address but not the HTML code to which your email address is linked, no mattyer how many times you reload the page, the cute little thing you like will. Not. Change. Oops.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:14 AM |

And spring is coming. It _has_ to be coming. Pleasepleaseplease...

I may change the layout tomorrow. I may not. I'm going to bed.

Honest!
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:16 AM |

I made fudge last night. With pecans and coconut.

It is absolutely -exquisite-.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 12:52 PM |

*Bounce* I have acquired yet more material goods that I don't actually -need-! To be more precise, I now own FFVII and FFTactics, because Fred Meyer had them for twenty bucks each.

I am going to owe my mother money forEVER. But at least I'll have something to distract myself with.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:55 PM |

I gotta go to bed. Boo. I wanna look at sozai sites.
Posted by: Shannon M.: 10:56 PM |