Movie Babble & Reaction to Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow

November 19th, 2008 5:18pm by rusty-halo | 2 Comments »

* x_los wrote Eighth Doctor/goosnake!Master. And it’s… actually kind of awesome? If you enjoy crackfic, I highly recommend it.

* I. Um. I think I want to see Twilight. I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW. But… it’s just… you know… Robert Pattinson is really really cute!

Apparently somewhere inside me there still lurks a twelve year old girl, whose Pretty!Boy!Vampire! alert has just been triggered. I will have to hide my face in shame and sneak into the theater hoping that no one I know will recognize me. Or at least claim that I’m there only to snark. :P

* I saw the new James Bond this weekend and was disappointed. I’m all for emotional continuity, but it didn’t feel like the movie really went anywhere. Nothing made a big impression, and I was mostly bored. Apparently I’m one of the three human beings on the planet who do not find Daniel Craig attractive, so without a compelling story there just wasn’t much to hold my interest. Casino Royale was so much better. :(

* I just read this book called The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, about a Jesuit expedition to Alpha Centauri (seriously). It was brilliantly written, but I didn’t love it.

( spoilers for The Sparrow and for the Lymond Chronicles (possibly offensive to religious types) )

Current Mood: tired

*crosses fingers*

November 19th, 2008 1:56pm by rusty-halo | 15 Comments »

Those of you who read my journal regularly are probably aware that, every night before I go to bed, I get down on my knees and pray that John Simm will return as the Master for one of the 2009 Doctor Who specials.*

Nothing has been announced yet, BUT…

( spoilery speculation )

* I don’t actually do this.

Current Mood: hopeful & nervous

New Server

November 19th, 2008 1:29pm by rusty-halo | 1 Comment »

While LiveJournal was having its whole server migration adventure, I was having my own. I moved all my sites to a faster server this weekend, so if you noticed any downtime, that’s why. It was supposed to be a quick thing, but ended up taking two days. (*sigh*) And my email was out for two days, which nearly sent me into hysteria. You don’t realize how addicted to something you are until you lose it. (None of this was my fault, btw; after two days of frantic back and forth with the tech support guys, they were like “Oops, our bad,” and fixed some configuration thing that I had no access to. Argh.)

Apparently several people were worried that All About Spike was down for good. (Awww! People still care!) As always, I promise to give lots of advance notice before I close it, and have no plans to do so anytime soon. I apologize for not giving advance notice of the downtime, but, er, I didn’t really think anyone was still reading. Glad to know some of you still are.

Everything should be working fine now, but if you notice any problems with allaboutspike.com, writercon.com, supervegan.com, or rusty-halo.com, let me know! Oh, and if you tried to email me on Monday or Tuesday, you should probably try again; almost everything bounced permanently during that time.

Current Mood: stressed

Spooks, Doctor Who, and My Final Thoughts on Due South

November 10th, 2008 2:49am by rusty-halo | 13 Comments »

My friend Cat came over Saturday night. We drank a bottle of red wine and watched two episodes of Spooks and two of Doctor Who. (Alas, jaydk is the only person I’ve found who’ll marathon TV with me until 7am; Cat was tired at midnight!)

( Spooks: 7×01 and 7×02 )

( Doctor Who: The Christmas Invasion and School Reunion )

( Due South: my thoughts on the series as a whole )

So, um, anyone have fic recs? I’ve never read a word of Due South fanfic–what are the standards in the fandom?

Current Mood: thoughtful

Post-Election Thoughts

November 6th, 2008 12:41pm by rusty-halo | 8 Comments »

I’m still floating on a high from Obama’s election. I know he won’t be perfect and a few months from now I’ll probably be bitching about mistakes he’s made, but right now I am just going to enjoy the incredible thrill of his election for as long as possible. I honestly didn’t think America would progress this far within my lifetime. And, speaking as a New Yorker, it’s so good to count as a “real American” again.

I watched the whole Indecision ‘08 special at home last night, and… you guys… Stephen Colbert was crying. Have I mentioned how much I adore him?

I’m also really enjoying all these articles about how the GOP is falling apart. My entire life has been dominated by the rise of the Republican party; Reagan was elected two years before I was born. I’ve dreamed of watching them crumble, and now–HA! FINALLY.

I’m also so pleased that several animal rights initiatives passed. California’s Proposition 2 was a huge victory; it requires that farm animals be confined in pens that enable them to turn around and stretch their limbs. While it’s only a small reduction in the horrors of the factory farming industry, this is still a huge step in raising awareness and reducing animal suffering. Massachusetts also voted yes on Question 3, which ends the exploitative greyhound racing industry in that state.

And I’m pleased that several anti-choice initiatives were rejected. Colorado defeated Amendment 48, which would have defined a fertilized egg as a person; South Dakota rejected anti-abortion Measure 11, which was a set-up to a Roe v Wade challenge; and California rejected Proposition 4, which required parental notifications and waiting periods.

Unfortunately my squee at all this good news is severely tempered by the passage of hateful anti-gay measures in California (Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage), Arizona (Proposition 102 to ban gay marriage), Florida (Amendment 2 to ban gay marriage), and Arkansas (Measure 1 to ban gay couples from adopting and being foster parents).

California is the biggest disappointment, since so much effort went into defeating that stupid ban, and the vote was so close. On the plus side, the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights are already challenging it in court. And the one thing that really makes me feel better is that the vote was clearly divided by age–younger people voted against it while older people voted for it. Not to be too crude, but at least it’s only a matter of time before the bigots die out. :P

Current Mood: disappointed & impressed

That was like New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July times ten.

November 5th, 2008 1:43pm by rusty-halo | 10 Comments »

That was just… incredible. It was like New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July times ten.

( Read more… )

Current Mood: giddy

Yes, I Voted, Too

November 4th, 2008 2:33pm by rusty-halo | 4 Comments »

Well, I voted. The nice thing about living in the middle of nowhere: only one person was in line ahead of me. It was nice to get out of there quickly, but I’d kind of been hoping for one of those long lines so I that I could impress my grandnieces and nephews with stories of how long I waited in line to vote for Barack Obama. ;)

I’ll be at the SuperVegan Election Night Party at Red Bamboo Brooklyn tonight, hopefully drinking to celebrate and not to drown the pain. *crosses fingers*

Current Mood: hopeful & scared

SuperVegan Election Night Party in Brooklyn

November 3rd, 2008 3:52pm by rusty-halo | 2 Comments »

SuperVegan’s having an election night party. If you’re in the NYC area and you want to celebrate/commiserate with a bunch of Obama-loving vegetarians, this would be the event for you. Here are the details:

***

Join SuperVegan in Fort Greene, Brooklyn for our Election Night Party as we keep a watchful eye on the results while downing discounted drink specials like Vegan White Russians, Chocolate Hawaiians, and Joe The Plumber Cocktails and munching on yummy vegan grub at Red Bamboo Brooklyn on Tue, November 4th from 8pm on.

If you are on Facebook, RSVP here.

To accommodate more peeps and after lessons learned from our awesome debate watch party, Red Bamboo Brooklyn’s first floor will serve dinner from 8pm through midnight and the second floor and patio will be cleared of tables for folks to drink and hang out until the wee hours. We’ll also have DJs on the second floor throughout the night!!!

***

This is where I’ll be tomorrow night, hopefully cheering instead of crying.

Current Mood: nervous

Run, Don’t Walk

October 30th, 2008 1:46pm by rusty-halo | 2 Comments »

Writercon 2009 tickets are now on sale. Be one of the first 50 to register and you’ll get the special early-bird discount of $69.

If you’re still feeling unsure, check out our pages on Writercon 2006 and Writercon 2004 to see what the hype is all about. We’re going multifandom this year, so there will be a lot of great content for everyone. (If you’re worried that others won’t share your fandoms, take a look at our attendee fandom poll to see where audience interest lies. Doctor Who is way up there!)

Current Mood: hopeful

*collapses into bed*

October 29th, 2008 11:29pm by rusty-halo | 1 Comment »

Mmmm. Fancy mixed drinks? Totally the best way to deal with that kind of news. Thank you, Galaxy Global Eatery.

The possibility of Hamlet coming to NYC is totally my silver lining. PLEASE LET IT HAPPEN. (*crosses fingers, knocks on wood, and prays*)

Note to self: in the midst of hangover misery, don’t forget to put Writercon tickets on sale at noon tomorrow!

Current Mood: drunk

I do have to say…

October 29th, 2008 6:09pm by rusty-halo | 17 Comments »

( Read more… )

Eep.

October 29th, 2008 4:47pm by rusty-halo | 20 Comments »

Tennant (maybe?) leaving Doctor Who.

( Hmmm… )

Current Mood: contemplative

Writercon Tickets On Sale This Thursday

October 28th, 2008 10:55am by rusty-halo | No Comments »

Just a reminder: Writercon 2009 tickets go on sale this Thursday, October 30, at noon EST. The first 50 tickets will be sold at a special early bird discount of $69, so try to be one of the first to register! Tickets will be on sale at Writercon.com; if you don’t have an account, register one now to make things quicker on ticket-sale day.

Also, this Friday, October 31, is the deadline to enter the Official Writercon Icon Contest. You don’t need to attend Writercon to win, and icon-makers from any fandom are welcome to show off their creativity. You can make up to three icons per fandom and send them to info@writercon.com. All icons should have the tagline “Writercon 2009: Writing Between the Lines.” Full details are here.

Also, as we reach out to new fandoms, we’d love it if some of those who’ve attended Writercon in the past would share their experiences for the benefit of newbies who want to know what it’s like. Just go here and comment with what you enjoyed about Writercon in the past (you do need a Writercon account to comment).

UK vs US

October 24th, 2008 3:49pm by rusty-halo | 13 Comments »

( Things I miss about the UK )

( Things I missed about the US )

JFK to LAX for $289

October 23rd, 2008 5:43pm by rusty-halo | 11 Comments »

Virgin America is having a sale. My Gallifrey One plane tickets are booked!

jaydk and I are arriving Thursday night and leaving Monday morning.

Hope to see many of you there! :)