shoeshine boy

Well, if this didn't get me to post, nothing will

It's been so long since I've posted something here, that when I logged back in tonight, I was confronted by the confusion of the top four posts in my friends list being spam from a hijacker using my brother's account that he abandoned years ago and I never unfriended. Seemed somehow appropriate for the first post since the election.

I don't really know what to say about these turn of events. November 9 was spent kind of zombielike, a mostly wasted day, where I kept avoiding news because I didn't want to hear Donald or Hilary, because then I'd have to face that this really happened.

But I will say this:

Rudy Giuliani, you vacuous, glad-handing, opportunist, this is not about me being a sore loser or a spoiled crybaby. This is about the horror at us ushering in a president who has zero respect for others, who promotes the sorts of xenophobic, racist, and dehumanizing attitudes that insult leaders around the world, could start conflicts, and will likely initiate the beginning of the end of the United States as a dominant world power, whose benefits you take so for granted, you think that the US can survive a joke for a president for four years and not take an irrevocable hit to its credibility.

This is about unleashing a culture war front and center where the footsoldiers have been given implicit permission to be as violent, aggressive, and bullying to the most vulnerable in our society as Trump modeled at his rallies, in his speeches, and at debates. He treated our former Secretary of State and a candidate for president with a level of crass indignity that was stupefyingly unprecedented in recent political history. I and my friends are now more likely to become targets for intimidation, bullying, and outright violence, thanks to his campaign win. Congratulations, Donald Trump. We haven't seen an American presidential candidate willing to stoop so low and go so dark since the late 1800s.

So STFU, Rudy Giulani, and try to imagine living in Trump's America without your millions and your abundance of white, male privilege and then see what a "crybaby" you become.

I fear we have put a bunch of clowns in charge of the country at a time when we are on the precipice of a rapidly changing geopoltical world stage that we are still struggling to understand, are on the cusp of the dramatic effects of worldwide climate change, and are circling the drain of an oncoming worldwide economic crisis that we can't pretend forever is okay because we have an abundance of crappy low-paying jobs that work everyone to death and discourage people even in traditionally fiscally conservative nations to keep fewer and fewer or even no savings.

Nationally, if Trump lives up to his campaign promises, he will basically trap people in jobs they hate because they're afraid of losing a health insurance that will be free to not take people with existing conditions and to stop insuring you after you hit a certain dollar amount over your lifetime so that in your most expensive years, you will be abandoned by your insurance company.  By his choosing of a Supreme Court justice, Trump could indirectly repeal Roe v Wade and Obergefell v Hodges, and possibly give even more power to corporations over our society. Your friends, relatives, coworkers, classmates could be forced to leave the country abruptly even though they have contributed immensely to this country, paid taxes, and have been the greatest ambassadors for our country's way of life.

If you were opposed to Hilary because you thought she might be flawed, two-faced, or even corrupt, I actually get where that comes from. I was never her biggest fan, especially when I was going by nothing but my gut feeling about having seen her. On camera, she has a tendency to come across as stiff and arrogant. She's been a bit of a hawk at times, and she may or may not have made money she shouldn't have through the Clinton Foundation. But if you look at her political and social record, the actual undeniable facts of her record, she has always been fighting for the powerless in our society, she has worked on many plans to make our everyday lives better - easier access to education, to health care, to equal pay. Stack that against a man who has never fought for any cause that didn't benefit himself directly and who we know for a fact plundered his own foundation, in a clearly illegal way, and who boasts of not having paid taxes for over a decade, who is constantly under audit and involved in lawsuits for not paying people he's hired or for dealing with his workers illegally.

All things considered, I'd take the imperfect vessel anyday who actually has goddamn experience talking to world leaders and negotiating with them.Why would I want the guy whose plan is to tax the wealthy even less than they are outrageously not taxed now? The gap in finances that Trump's strategy will present to the country's budget a financial burden that is either going to be shouldered by the middle and working class through taxation, or else by social insitutions and safety nets the middle class use the most: social security, education, and unemployment. And this is just a taster of what Trump might do.

Everytime I hear "President Trump" or try to say it, it just sounds unbelievably ridiculous. So go back to your tower, Donald. In my mind, "you're fired."  
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BSG_Remix09

Drive-by Remix awesomeness recs

So I shouldn't be posting before work, but....

Great fics this year so far in the bsg_remix! I have recs!

First, you should totally check out the fun and clever fic I got this year:
Self-Destructive
This is a remix of my fic Impulse Control, which was a cracky, porny BSG/Iron Man crossover ficlet for a long ago porn battle that I never expected anyone to ever look at again. The banter in this remix of it just utterly sparks to and it's a joy to read. The premise is that the Colonials found our modern-Earth in the Marvel universe, and Felix Gaeta has been assigned the job of Galactica liason to Tony Stark. And well, let's just say that initially, Felix is a little sick of dealing with manipulative, egotistical genius scientists, and he's got a thing or two to say about it  (that is before they're eventually going to give in to the hot sex in my fic). Short, smart and very funny, while also a dead-on, slightly meta critique of the Tony Stark character.

Other great fics I've read so far:

Smoke and Mirrors
A beautiful and heartbreaking Boomer/Tyrol fic, tracking their relationship from the Mini through New Caprica, taking the premise that they had a brief affair on NC that ended disastrously. I won't spoil it, but there's a moment where Chief does something stupid because of an assumption about Boomer on NC, and it utterly killed me, it was so achy. Get the tissues out for this one, folks. Also, nice observations about the Cylons on NC here, especially the relationship between Gaius and Caprica made this fic an absolute winner for me.

How Sam Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Cylon
This is a great meditation on Sam's Cylonicity and how the Cylon in him was perhaps there all along. Sam's loneliness and quest to understand himself in this is utterly palpable.

Existence is Circular
This one is haunting, and not for the very faint of heart, check the warnings. But Gina is never a happy subject, is she? This fic takes a disturbing look at what if Gina had survived and been implanted with Caprica Six's memories and made to forget her own, in an attempt to keep her sane? Then put her on New Caprica in charge of torturing prisoners, and you've got a whole lot of ouch on all sides. This fic shows you both her perspective and the anonymous prisoners' perspectives and it's just an intense, good read.

Shanked
I never thought that I would become a fan of BDSM prison fic, (yeah, check the warnings) but the worldbuilding about the society inside the Astral Queen that you get to see in this fic is just amazing, utterly believable. I could have read a whole novel set in this world set up by the author. But also, the examination of Meier's character - a minor Tom Zarek flunky from second season - is just gripping. In this fic, he's both a manipulative son of a bitch, and a needy follower who yet somehow you end up rooting for. :)  And also there's a love story hiding here in all the posturing both Maier and Zarek do, and it's sweet and achy to watch these two men refuse to admit how much they mean to each other emotionally.

And there are many others I'm looking forward to settling down with, so I probably will have a second recs post soon. Go read!
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frakking_awesome

(no subject)

Okay, so one minor thing that's awesome about being in a country that's not the United States? 

I'm sitting in a hotel room in Mexico channel surfing and happen upon a documentary about the Dadaist Marcel Duchamp. The awesome part? It was originally made in French, because that's the dominant audio track. Yet, there are parts where they interviewed Americans and you can hear them speaking English underneath the dominant track.  

So what did the educational channel here in Mexico think about all these layers upon layers of language going on when they decided to show this programme? 

"Who cares?" that's what.

They did not worry about their audience being freaked out by yet another language being slapped onto this documentary. They just threw on some Spanish subtitles over the whole damn thing, implicitly saying, "We trust you to be intelligent enough to figure this out. Enjoy." 

I like the respect of that. 

Obvs., I have arrived in Mexico City. Am blind with exhaustion, but have not collapsed yet. Am about to take a shower (first in oh, 36 hours) and this may take care of that. 

I still can't believe I managed to find a Quinceanera card in SPANISH in the CVS in Easthampton for my step-niece. I think I'm more proud of that achievement than of the presents I bought her, which were also not the easiest coup - YA books in Spanish, including The Hunger Games, which her mom swears she's never read or even talked about. I hope this doesn't mean that she's dead set against them or something. 
  • Current Mood: exhausted exhausted
Gaeta_Hotdog_Finish

Flist purge alert

So I've decided that my friends list has gotten sort of out of control big, with some people who I don't ever communicate with anymore and don't communicate with me, plus communities that are defunct or that I don't read.

So I'm doing an flist purge, my first ever. And while I'm most likely keeping on anyone I've communicated with in the last few months, if you're at all concerned, drop me a line here.

Thanks!
  • Current Mood: productive productive
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Looking for that moral compass

me as of late

It's been a lovely two weeks of vacation. Too lovely, perhaps. I go back to work Tuesday, and I so don't want to. 

But I've been very lucky, so I suppose I shouldn't complain. In the last two weeks, I got to go to Mexico for a week to visit my dad and my stepmom. A few years ago, they built a house in San Miguel de Allende and I'd not been to see it yet. My dad usually comes home for Christmas, and he decided not to this year, so he suggested that I and my brother come down to visit for the holiday. He sweetened the deal by offering to pay for whatever part of the ticket we couldn't afford as a Christmas present. Turned out to be the best decision ever to say yes. I had such a relaxing time and it was warm (in the 70s during the day, in the 50s at night). The town of San Miguel is like a Renaissance city, all cobblestones and cathedrals and haciendas dating back to the 1500s, the legacy of Spanish conquest, of course, but still, pretty breathtaking to look at. It's definitely a tourist city for Mexicans. Every weekend, it gets a huge influx of especially young Mexicans, from places like Guadalajara and Mexico City, who travel in to bar hop, see bands and walk around the Plaza Jardín in the center. There's also a significant American ex-pat population here, artists, artisans, musicians, and people just wanting to be surrounded by all that. 

In terms of socializing, it was a great time. Got to see lots of my dad and stepmom, who were really generous and gracious to us, and I got to spend a couple of days with my stepmom's daughter, her husband and their kids, who I hadn't seen since they were pre-pubescents. Now they're teenage girls, 15 and 16, and they act so much older and at the same time younger than I was expecting. Girls that age in the States seem to me like they'd be so jaded and mature before their years. It's not like they weren't obviously teens, hooked to their MP3 players and talking about celebrities and all that. But they were also very respectful to their parents and made efforts to socialize with me and my brother, even though we were obviously the adult "tios". (It totally blew my mind to realize that technically speaking, they are my nieces - I have nieces! Hadn't thought about it until this trip.)

I also got to see old family friends closer to my age, some of whom my brother and I had grown up with for a while, but hadn't seen since all our families moved apart from each other. And there were some whom I had never met at all. Basically, it was kismet that all of us happened to be in San Miguel at the same time, so they invited my brother and I out for drinks to catch up, and it was such a blast that all regrouped at one of their houses the day after Christmas for a "recalentada" - a traditional party you have the day after a big party like Christmas or a Quinceañera party (think a girl's "Sweet Sixteen" party, but done at age 15.), where the leftovers are reheated and you party a second time. For Christmas, everyone brings leftovers from their own Christmas Eve party and so it's like a potluck.I met more folks from the family satellite, and to my surprise, of the younger set (mind you, we're all like 30-40), literally 50 percent of us were gay, so I got to ask what's it like to be gay in Mexico? Does the macho culture make it scary, etc? I said I wanted to bring my girlfriend, but I was a little worried.

I had to screw up my courage to ask, because it was me coming out to all these people as gay for the first time when they hadn't heard even an inkling of it, (also, my dad and all his friends were at this party, did I mention that??) but having people there openly talking about their partners and there being even one couple there made it less of a thing, and it was cool. I got the scoop on the gay zone in Mexico City, and the attitudes towards gayness (it sounds like there's a weird combination of tolerance and stereotyping going on that's generally harmless, if clueless). But the main point this guy was telling me was that he felt totally safe, and it's been even cooler since Mexico City legalized gay marriage. One of the guys, Mauricio, told me I should totally bring trovia and even offered to show us around Mexico City (where he lives) if we came to Mexico. I felt so accepted and relaxed after that, because I felt like a part of my life that I was consciously avoiding talking about  was out in the open. 

I also wrote for Yuletide this year, and GUYS, I managed for my first Yuletide ever to finish almost a WEEK in advance! Seriously, you don't know how awesome that is. Every other year, I've been literally posting at like two minutes to midnight, completely stressing out. But I was determined to get my story done by the time I left for Mexico because I didn't know if I would have reliable internet access with my netbook over there. (And thank god I did, because my dad's assurance that he had internet did not apply to a wireless network...) I was so pleased and it gave me hope that maybe I'll keep doing Yuletide, because this year, I also learned to absolutely limit myself to fandoms that I knew for sure I could actually write. I know, it sounds obvious, but every Yuletide, I'd always end up caving for my last signup offer because I had run out of reasonable fandoms, and so I'd pick something that I was vaguely familiar with, that I'd seen or read years ago, and be like, "Well ... I guess I could write that if I absolutely had to. But I'll probably never get assigned that." And then of course, inevitably I would. Also, I think it paid off that I know more fandoms this year, thanks to a lot of watching of older t.v. shows I got introduced to this year. 

Also exciting for Yuletide, was my story!!! I got a Black Books story, which was loads of fun. The Bernard voice was PERFECT. And Fran and Manny were hilarious as well, just in the way they are on the show. It totally made me want to read more BB fic and rewatch the show. 

As many of you know, grinninfoole and I have been in the slow process of disentangling our lives, living . Holidays are of course some of the collateral changes. He didn't come with me to Mexico for Christmas (actually, we didn't spend last Christmas together either, since I was in Germany with trovia  For New Year's Eve, all bets were off as well, and so he has elected to go to a special board games event at his store and I am going out with a lesbian meetup group to Diva's, the local gay club, for their New Year's Event. I'm terribly nervous about it, because it's the first time I'll be meeting these folks, and I've never been to Diva's except for goth night, and I still harbor these secret fears that I'll be rejected somehow, which I know logically is ridiculous, and I'm sure it'll be loads of fun (the two women who are meeting with me beforehand for dinner are already talking about how much fun we'll have playing pool and dancing), but STILL, yikes! New social group! I'm still a shy nerd at heart sometimes. D:

But I'm going. I'm going in a few minutes, actually. Wish me luck!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, MY LOVELIES!!!!

P.S. Oh, and daybreak77, I haven't forgotten, I've just been busy entertaining usakeh, who has been visiting this weekend, so there hasn't really been a good time for a chat. But I'm going to try and connect with you tomorrow. :)
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  • Current Mood: nervous nervous
  • Current Music: Torchwood Theme
Flying Now

A note to my Yuletide author

First of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS (if you celebrate).

Secondly, just wanted to let you know that I am in Mexico having a grand time with my family. I will be traveling back on the 26th, arriving late at night, so in other words, I very well may not get to read your fic until the 27th or even the 28th. But I'm looking forward to it very much, and I really appreciate you writing it. I know I'm going to love it. Thank you mystery writer!
frakking_awesome

BSG Secret Hobbies Challenge Roundup Post

Just over 200 comments, guys! WOW.

Thanks for making the BSG SECRET HOBBIES CHALLENGE a success beyond our wildest expectations. You guys gave the Colonials some of the most surprising and hilarious hobbies we never expected them to have - ballet dancer, fanfic writer, rock musician, paintballer, knitter, and even extremely freelance editor... ;)

We had a great time reading all the fascinating and creative drabbles, and were pleased to make the acquaintance of LJ'ers we had never heard of before. We had ten writers and twenty-four drabbles. Some of you of you contributed two or more drabbles! Two people wrote BSG fic for the very first time ever for this challenge! We're very honored.

Here's a roundup of what people wrote:

trovia and millari:
Tigh, Baltar

millari:
Adama
Baltar

trovia:
Hot Dog
Ellen
Leoben
Racetrack, Skulls

acsgrlie:
Lee

geekbynight:
Athena
Boomer, Mathias
Tamara Adama
Gaeta, Sweet!Eight

choc_n_roses:
Male Cylon (warning: character suicide)

puszysty:
Cottle
Dee

lls_mutant:
Narcho, Showboat, Hoshi
Zarek
Lee

ohcopernicus:
Dee

lorrainemarker:
Laura
Gaeta and Hoshi
Skulls
Zarek

nvgvup:
Adama

Thanks again for making it an extremely fun and successful challenge, everyone!

Your mods,
millari and trovia
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Triad

BSG Secret Hobbies Challenge 2010

Ever been convinced that in his spare time, Admiral Adama tends orchids? That when Starbuck wasn't painting the nebula on her apartment wall, she spent her time fly fishing? That Lee has a secret history as a break dancer?

Then you need to participate in millari and trovia's

BSG SECRET HOBBIES CHALLENGE

Photobucket

From bungee jumping to stamp collecting to needlework, everybody's got a hobby so why not your most beloved BSG 'verse characters too? Write us a 100-word drabble or make some art and reveal their secret hobbies to the world. These revelations can be surprising, funny, even poignant. There are no rules.

Well, actually, there are rules. But they're few and they're simple:


  1. Drabbles should be 100 words or less

  2. We have no problem with porn, if you can make it work, but it should be clear that kinks don't count as hobbies.

  3. Art can be original or photoshopped art, or even creative photos involving action figures.

  4. Crossovers are allowed if you can somehow get a crossover and a hobby across in 100 words. We say, go for it!

  5. The Caprica 'verse is considered part of the BSG 'verse. You don't need to mention the BSG characters at all if you're using Caprica characters.

  6. Post your contribution in a comment to this post. One comment for each contribution.

  7. Put the main character and – if necessary – warnings in the subject line of the comment.

  8. Crosspost as much as you like!

  9. This challenge is open through January 6, 2011


If you're confused now, here are some examplesCollapse )
This challenge was inspired by the Geheime Hobbys Challenge 2008 by Die Rumtreiberinnen in the German Harry Potter and X-Men fandom.
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Looking for that moral compass

Free medicine cabinet, anyone?

Hi Folks,

This is really an offer for people on my flist who are within driving distance of me, because it has a mirror and glass shelves, I'm not sure it would ship well.

I am offering to anyone who wants it, totally free, an IKEA medicine cabinet made by Siljan.
Siljan Front View Good


It has never been used. We bought it from IKEA over a year ago, finally got around to putting it together recently, and discovered that it was actually just slightly too wide to fit in the bathroom. :( So our loss is your gain. If you're within driving distance and you want it, it's yours. You just need to screw it up onto your bathroom wall. I'll even drive it to you when we next get together if you need. I just would like it to go to somewhere useful instead of it getting thrown out.

Here are the specs on it. You may need to click on the link that says, "specifications".
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Romo_Devil's_Advocate

Proud pimping post

So in the off chance that anyone on my friends list hasn't heard about this yet, I wanted to take a moment to pimp the fic exchange I've gone and involved myself in this year. :)

Why yes, thank you for asking. It's the Bsg Fic Exchange! Please do go sign up if you want to write and have written awesome bsg fic about anyone, anywhere.

Somewhere out there, there is a person who wants to read that awesome fic you've been dying to write but thought no one else wanted to read.

Somewhere out there, there's a person who is totally up for writing that fic you thought you'd never see. Hell, I'll write it if it comes down to it. ;)

So you have no excuse. However, you do have only until May 1 to sign up.

...

So what are you still doing here? Go sign up! Shoo!
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  • Current Music: Coldplay - When I Ruled the World
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