| Happy Pi Day! |
[Mar. 14th, 2012|11:35 pm] |
A photo of my family's celebration appears behind the cut.
( Pi Day pies )
Seriously, I think Pi Day may be my favorite holiday: Thanksgiving involves too much family-induced stress; I don't like parties or drinking late at night, so I tend not to enjoy New Year's; and I'm neither patriotic nor religious, which cuts most of the remaining holidays out of the running. But pie is delicious and math is both useful and interesting, so Pi Day is a holiday that I can really get behind.
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| Numb3rs: "Show and Tell" |
[Mar. 10th, 2012|11:04 pm] |
This is not the story that I'm supposed to be posting next. (That fic is still in progress; it started going in a PWP + feelings direction, and I'm working out whether I should just let the story do what it wants or force a semblance of a plot onto it.) But when I opened this Numb3rs fic recently, I discovered that it was this close to being done; all it needed was a bit of editing and a title. So I edited and titled, and here it is.
Title: Show and Tell
Author: Jain
Characters: Don Eppes, Charlie Eppes, Alan Eppes
Rating: PG
Word count: 1200
Summary: It can be difficult having Charlie as a little brother.
Warning: Includes a teenager using the word "retarded" as an insult.
Permanent link: "Show and Tell" on AO3
( Show and Tell )
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| Ted Chiang |
[Feb. 25th, 2012|10:03 pm] |
In 2003, Ted Chiang turned down a Hugo nomination for his short story "Liking What You See: A Documentary," on the grounds that he'd been rushed in writing the story and he felt it didn't deserve the recognition. I've been working my way through Chiang's (small, though awesome) body of work, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear of that decision because ( spoilers for Liking What You See )
This entry also posted at: http://jain.dreamwidth.org/124688.html.  people have commented there. |
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| Lifestyle change |
[Feb. 18th, 2012|07:18 pm] |
Until recently, my desk/computer chair was a rocking recliner, which 1) took up a lot of space in my somewhat cramped room and 2) made it far too easy for me to settle in and not move for hours on end. Not healthy at all. So I moved the recliner downstairs and bought this semi-recumbent stationary bike. It arrived yesterday and my brother put it together for me, and it's lovely: sleek and comfortable and very, very quiet. I rode it for 40 minutes yesterday while reading some fanfiction and for 50 minutes this morning while watching The Mentalist, with the eventual goal of riding it every time I'm at the computer and not typing or actively using the mouse.
For periods of active computer use, I've revived the desk chair I used in college: a kneeling chair that's comfortable enough for extended sitting but not so cozy that I never want to leave it. It's only been a week since I switched desk chairs, but so far I've been really pleased with how much more I've been moving around. (And with how much more water I've been drinking! It's a lot easier to stay hydrated when I'm not curled into a recliner with a comforter over me and completely disinclined to go to the kitchen for a glass of water.) The dog is less happy about all this, since he can no longer sit on my lap while I'm at the computer; he's taken to coming into my room and lying on the floor with his head on his paws, looking mournful. Though at least the bike is quiet enough that it doesn't scare him, so really he should be grateful. :-)
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| 2011 Fannish Retrospective (only a month or so late) |
[Feb. 11th, 2012|08:16 pm] |
Your main fandom of the year?
Just like 2010, I've spent the past year flitting about like a fannish butterfly on speed. Major fandoms have included: Sherlock, The Social Network, Dresden Files, Inception, X-Men: First Class, and Suits.
Your favorite film watched this year?
The Princess and the Frog
Your favorite book read this year?
The Dispossessed
Your favorite album or song to listen to this year?
2Cellos
Your favorite TV show of the year?
Suits
Your favorite journaling community of the year?
![[community profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png) kink_finders
Your biggest squee moment of the year?
Pretty much every moment of screentime Gina Torres has in Suits.
Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
99% of explicit Arthur/Eames fic has Arthur bottoming. Please note that I don't begrudge people any of those thousands of stories--and in fact I've read many of them with great pleasure--but I do wish that there could be, in addition, a few hundred stories in which Arthur tops the hell out of Eames, rather than the twenty-five or so that I've managed to find.
Your TV boyfriend of the year?
No one, really. Though if this question were expanded to include movies, then it would be Arthur. (Inception was released in 2010, but I didn't see it until 2011.)
Your TV girlfriend of the year?
Jessica Pearson, Donna
The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to?
I'm disinclined to try a new fandom at the moment. I have too many ideas percolating for Inception and XMFC and Social Network and Suits fic, and I don't want to move on until I've gotten some of them down.
Your biggest fan anticipations for the New Year?
I am really looking forward to Remix Redux, even more than I usually do. Tenth year celebration!
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| Dear Purim Gifts writer: |
[Feb. 4th, 2012|08:42 pm] |
Thanks for offering to write in one or more of my requested fandoms! If you want a better idea of what I like, you can check out my general fic kinks and squicks post. Particular to Purim Gifts, I've listed my favorite pairings in the fandom details below, but all three of these fandoms are ones in which I'm very happy to receive gen fic about any of my favorite characters. And do have fun with whatever you decide to write; I'm sure I'll love it!
Inception RPF
So, when I say I want Inception RPF, what I really mean is I want Joseph Gordon-Levitt fic. I do prefer his being written as gay (Tom Hardy/JGL is particularly nice), but you should also feel free to write gen in which his sexuality isn't mentioned if that's your preference. And if you offered this fandom in the hopes of writing one of the Inception actresses, then Ellen Page gen or femslash is a more than acceptable alternative.
Suits
I love Jessica and Donna best, though Rachel and Scotty are also awesome, and I wouldn't say no to a story or two about the mysterious Vanessa. My favorite pairings, etc., are Jessica/Mike, Jessica/Mike/Harvey, Donna/Rachel, Jessica/Donna/Harvey, and Jessica/Donna. Just, please, no Trevor, Jenny, or Louis, and no Mike/Harvey (except as part of a Jessica/Mike/Harvey threesome, if you're going that route).
X-Men: First Class
My favorite eligible characters are Erik, Angel, and Moira. If you're interested in writing shipfic, I'd love any of: Erik/Charles/Angel, Erik/Moira, Angel/Raven, Alex/Darwin/Angel. This fandom is one where I really don't mind if you break my heart--angst; heavy depictions of racism, homophobia, sexism, and/or anti-Semitism; and ambiguous or downright unhappy endings are all fine by me. Which isn't to say that you have to write angsty or serious fic; happy or romantic fluff is equally welcome! Just, the option is there if you want it.
This entry also posted at: http://jain.dreamwidth.org/124087.html.  people have commented there. |
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| WIP poll |
[Jan. 15th, 2012|08:42 pm] |
I was doing a bit of AO3 housecleaning, addressing gift fic to people who hadn't had AO3 accounts when I'd originally posted the stories, and I became curious as to the ratio of gift fic to non-gift fic that I've written. The results were fairly dramatic: 102 : 66. (I counted fic written for remix exchanges as gift fic and didn't count fic written for kink meme prompts.) This means that 65% of my fic was written for other people! Of course, when one considers how prone to procrastination I am, the reasons for this become abundantly clear; I pretty much require a sense of social obligation to force me to get shit done.
If I were a better person, I'd consider this a sign that I ought to work to become more self-motivated. As it is, however, I'll instead rely upon you to give me a much needed nudge. I have a baker's dozen WIPs, any of which I ought to be able to finish within a week or two if I really buckled down, and all of which I've been dragging my feet on finishing (some of them for years). Help me decide what to write?
This entry also posted at: http://jain.dreamwidth.org/123551.html.  people have commented there. |
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| Big Bangs |
[Jan. 9th, 2012|02:59 pm] |
You know what would be awesome? If big bang challenges allowed writers to sign up to create complementary works: remixes or sequels or prequels or missing scenes or etc. of the big bang stories. I'm thinking 2500 words minimum of complementary work per 10,000 words minimum of big bang would be reasonable, so, e.g., for a big bang challenge with a 20,000 word minimum, the complementary work would have a 5000 word minimum. If the moderators chose, they might allow the original authors to specify in their sign-ups what type(s) of complementary work they preferred, just as some big bangs currently allow authors to state a preference for art or fanmixes.
As a writer, I'd love to be able to participate in big bang challenges (even as I'm resigned to the fact that I'll likely never write a story exceeding 8500 words), and as a part of the audience, I'd really enjoy reading the complementary stories that big bangs could produce, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. And there are plenty of authors who would like having their work engaged with in this way, right? Win-win-win, all around.
This entry also posted at: http://jain.dreamwidth.org/122512.html.  people have commented there. |
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| My computer |
[Jan. 8th, 2012|04:30 pm] |
So, my computer failure turned out not to be the motherboard--which is what the computer geeks in my life had been speculating based on my description of the failure--but instead my hard drive. This had the potential to be very, very bad, since I am lazy about backing up my files, but! My brother was able to recover all of my data!!! It took some doing, including sticking my dying hard drive in the freezer for a bit and retrieving the data with a computer running Linux when it became evident that the computer running Windows just could. not. do it., but in the end he prevailed.
This also means that I didn't have to replace my entire computer, but just the hard drive, which is much easier on my pocketbook (even if I am the tiniest bit sad that I can't justify buying a laptop anymore). The replacement of my hard drive went something like this:
Me: So, how much will a new hard drive cost me? And how quickly can it get here, like, two days? I don't want to wait too much longer to have a functioning computer.
Brother: (turns to rummage in one of his drawers for a bit) Well, I can give you this two terabyte one for $100.
So I now have a gorgeous, huge new hard drive, and my computer is running smoothly again, and I'm trying out Linux and really enjoying it, and basically my brother's the best thing ever. \o/
And now I'm going to go back up my data. :-)
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| Year's End and New Year |
[Jan. 3rd, 2012|12:41 pm] |
So, 2011 went out with a bang for me, in the sense that three of the most important machines in my life experienced a critical mechanical failure:
1) my cellphone died
2) my computer crashed (I haven't yet tried to retrieve data; cross your fingers for me!)
3) the car's transmission failed...or perhaps is failing? I can't be sure because:
3A) I got a flat tire at the same time as the transmission failure, so I can't tell how much of the resultant grinding and jerkiness of the car was due to the transmission and how much to the flat tire.
Oh, and I also developed a topical allergy to coconut oil, which is really inconvenient considering that my preferred soap, shampoo, and deodorant all contain the stuff and straight coconut oil is my favorite winter moisturizer.
So, yeah, 2011 has not been the greatest (and that's not even getting into the earlier part of the year). I'm obscurely reassured by the fact that most of my dwircle and flist also had bad 2011s, and I'll repeat--somewhat belatedly--everyone's wishes for a better new year for all of us!
And I've not really been one for New Year's resolutions, but this year I'm feeling the urge, so:
My 2012 New Year's Resolutions
1) Read a book per week. This past year my fanfiction : published fiction reading ratio was completely unbalanced, and I'd like to correct that a little.
2) Exercise once a week. Obviously, more than once a week would be healthier and better, but it would also be less likely to get done. I'm opting for practicality in this.
3) Post to DW once a week. (This post counts! Only 51 posts to go.)
4) Write a story per month. Last year I wrote ten nine (miscounted due to 3 Ships, which straddles the end of the year) stories, which is actually better than I thought I'd done before I just counted them, but I'd like to write more next year.
This entry also posted at: http://jain.dreamwidth.org/121143.html.  people have commented there. |
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| New Year's Resolution progress |
[Jan. 1st, 2012|04:20 pm] |
Current stats on my New Year's resolutions:
Books read: 13/52
Stories written: 9/12
Weeks in which I blogged at least once: 12/52
Weeks in which I exercised at least once: 18/52
This entry also posted at: http://jain.dreamwidth.org/121995.html.  people have commented there. |
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| Yuletide recs |
[Dec. 28th, 2011|01:14 pm] |
This year I'm dogsitting in an apartment with no internet access and my computer died two days before Christmas, and somehow I've created a list of Yuletide recs anyway. (Compare this to years in which I've had 24/7 internet access and never managed to rec a single story.) I'm putting this amazing feat down to the magic of the Kindle--I go home every day or two to download new fic off the AO3 and then read it at my leisure later--and to my own spirit of perversity.
I'm planning to do a second set of recs just for The Eagle (plus any additional awesome stories I might read between now and then), but for now here are a dozen recs in:
( Babel-17, Billy Elliot, The Breakfast Club, The Left Hand of Darkness, Lucky Starr series, My Drunk Kitchen, Nobuta wo Produce, Rizzoli & Isles, Suits )
This entry also posted at: http://jain.dreamwidth.org/120688.html.  people have commented there. |
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| Older Fic |
[Dec. 9th, 2011|02:56 pm] |
I finally uploaded seven of my older stories to the AO3 (including the first fanfic I ever completed, back in Spring 2002; I have no idea how that one managed to slip through the cracks, but somehow it never managed to migrate over to the AO3). The popslash stories have been available on my website for years, but the others were written for various fic exchanges and never crossposted elsewhere until today. In reverse chronological order:
Halfway Respectable
Havemercy, Adamo/Balfour, 1046 words
After the dissolution of the Dragon Corps, the airmen follow different paths.
Correspondence
Havemercy, Thom/Balfour, 5183 words
Thom had never had occasion to think overlong on Volstov's mail service as a student.
Efflorescence
Star Trek XI, Uhura/Sulu, 2591 words
Uhura finds what she's looking for.
Different
Nobuta wo Produce, Shuuji/Akira, 100 words
Shuuji makes a new friend.
Obedience
'N Sync, Backstreet Boys, AJ/Justin, 194 words
Justin's a good boy.
Competition
'N Sync, Chris/Lance, 184 words
"What do you mean, 'Nick Carter's hotter'?"
Better than Fine
'N Sync, Chris/Lance, 495 words
Chris isn't sick anymore. Really.
And I'm pretty sure that's all the loose fic I had lying around. Now to update my website rest on my laurels, have a celebratory cup of wine, and procrastinate on updating my website for another year or two.
This entry also posted at: http://jain.dreamwidth.org/120079.html.  people have commented there. |
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| Leyendecker |
[Nov. 24th, 2011|03:50 pm] |
I may have found one of my Yuletide fandoms for next year, thanks to this fascinating post on Leyendecker and the Arrow Collar Man, examining the artwork of J.C. Leyendecker, magazine cover and advertisement illustrator in the 1900-1930s. I particularly like the illustration of the soldiers and nurse on board the U.S.S. Leviathan and the one with the man and woman supporting a book. Early 20th century homoeroticism for the win!
This entry also posted at: http://jain.dreamwidth.org/119895.html.  people have commented there. |
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