flipflops and flowers - you say that like it's a bad thing

kink bingo!

2009-06-02T07:27:32Z

Haha, it's just too much fun not to try. :)

My card:

Yay kink_bingo! And many thanks to runpunkrun's post here on making an image map!

::crosspost test::

ETA: The code needed some fiddling. Hopefully I'm not spamming anyone's reading page; feel free to holler at me if that's the case.

sigh.

2008-12-09T11:41:58Z

Someone I love and admire is fading away by inches. I can't stop it, and the only way to help is to keep smiling, and teasing, and breathing. Oh, Papa.

My grandparents are my definition of love. I have never seen two people so balanced by each other, so delighted by each other, so focused on the other's happiness. They are breaking my heart.

Yuletide letter!

2008-11-21T03:54:26Z

Dear Yuletide author,

Hello! I’m so glad someone out there loves one of my fandom choices as much as I do! Whatever you decide to write for me, I hope you have fun. :)

Most of my posts here aren’t going to be much help to you, as they’re a) mostly art and b) mostly about Stargate: Atlantis. I do have a delicious account here( ta-da), if you want, but not all of my requested fandoms are referenced there. Generally, things I enjoy are characters interacting, adventures, slice-of-life stories, and lots of humor (in no particular order or combination). I like angst somewhat, but prefer it with a happy ending. For yuletide, I’d rather not have a story that is sex-only; plot please! Also, and this is a weird specific, I know, but considering some of the fandoms I requested it’s somewhat relevant: please, please, please no deaths in bathrooms; no shower, toilet or sink related deaths. It’s a bizarre personal trigger for me: enough said.

Okay, specifics!

For Psych, I love both slash and gen stories. The story can stay entirely G-rated or be filled with sex, I just would prefer a good plot. I love how Shawn butts heads with everyone, and how great they all work together as a team despite the constant conflicts. I love the humor in this show; if you can give me a funny scenario I’ll be happy. Shawn is my favorite; if he’s in character doing something absurd or heroic or brilliant, you’ve got me. I forgot to mention this before, but I have only watched the first two seasons, so I’d prefer if your plot doesn’t hinge on something I haven’t seen.

For Dexter, I like how, for a show about serial killing, it’s surprisingly un-morbid, and sometimes even adorable. I’m more interested in the lighter side of the show, namely, Dexter trying to act like a “real boy”. I like to see him interacting with unsuspecting people, especially when it leads to hilarious or ironic double meanings. And even though I’m up for slash, I’d rather not see Rita-bashing.

For Carnivale, what I already said stands. Anything – gen, het, slash, backstory, what happens after the series cuts off or something else entirely, go for it.

And then there’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Post-movie shenanigans would be great, especially if they’re hilarious. The more implausible/ old-timey noir, the better.

Okay! I hope that’s enough information, whichever fandom you’re writing. Good luck, and have fun. I know I will be. :)

Also: Halloween art for Paintedspires

2008-11-12T02:16:01Z

Ahem. Forgot to post when these first went up: suffice to say, paintedspires has continued on as a challenge community, and the first one was Halloween-themed. There's some very cool (and terrifying) art up there, so go check it out!

My posts are here: Lab Wolf and Cultural Heritage, Or Why Atlantis Had To Requisition So Much Felt . Much thanks to aesc for letting me use some of her Satedan backstory!

Artword Challenge 14

2008-11-12T00:05:40Z

Hey! All the great stories and art from the latest Artword challenge are being posted as I type. This time it was a Round Robin, with 4 people to every story and 4 more working on the accompanying art. It's produced some really great works, go check it out!

The main page of artword is here. Stories I participated in as an artist are: Only Can Give (What You Have), Lost In Communication, Just Another Mission Gone Wrong, and Apricity.

\O/

sandalstrap @ 2008-05-07T10:15:00

2008-05-07T17:17:13Z

New (and last until they open up the prompts again) post to paintedspires! It's here; go check out all the really spectacular submissions!

sandalstrap @ 2008-04-30T00:29:00

2008-04-30T07:34:19Z

paintedspires post number 2 over here! Posted slightly later than it should have been, which is, well, frustrating. Unfortunately RL ated me today and yesterday, and will continue to eat me for the rest of the week. Not fun. But back to my original point! Go check out what's happening in paintedspires, y'all!

sandalstrap @ 2008-04-26T01:02:00

2008-04-26T08:08:44Z

Posted fanart over at paintedspires: over here!

Go and check out all the fantastic submissions posted so far!

Twelve Days of Livejournal

2007-12-19T04:55:24Z

*dies and dies and dies*

On the twelfth day of Christmas, sandalstrap sent to me...

Twelve myths drumming

Eleven maus piping

Ten giraffes a-leaping

Nine clouds dancing

Eight storyboards a-drawing

Seven fables a-reading

Six orchids a-painting

Five blu-u-u-ur studios

Four stargate atlantis

Three fairy tales

Two independent comics

...and a pixar in a tim curry.

What really makes this is definitely the pixar in a tim curry, but from the fourth day to the end had me grinning SO HARD. XD

happy sigh

2007-10-30T08:14:36Z

This always makes me smile.

The things about you I appreciate
May seem indelicate:
I'd like to find you in the shower
And chase the soap for half an hour.
I'd like to have you in my power
And see your eyes dilate.
I'd like to have your back to scour
And other parts to lubricate.
Sometimes I feel it is my fate
To chase you screaming up a tower
Or make you cower
By asking you to differentiate
Nietzsche from Schopenhauer.
I'd like successfully to guess your weight
And win you at a fete.
I'd like to offer you a flower.

I like the hair upon your shoulders,
Falling like water over boulders.
I like the shoulders, too: they are essential.
Your collar-bones have great potential
(I'd like all your particulars in folders
Marked Confidential).

I like your cheeks, I like your nose,
I like the way your lips disclose
The neat arrangement of your teeth
(Half above and half beneath)
In rows.
I like your eyes, I like their fringes.
The way they focus on me gives me twinges.
Your upper arms drive me berserk.
I like the way your elbows work,
On hinges.

I like your wrists, I like your glands,
I like the fingers on your hands.
I'd like to teach them how to count,
And certain things we might exchange,
Something familiar for something strange.
I'd like to give you just the right amount
And get some change.

I like it when you tilt your cheek up.
I like the way you nod and hold a teacup.
I like your legs when you unwind them.
Even in trousers I don't mind them.
I like each softly-moulded kneecap.
I like the little crease behind them.
I'd always know, without recap,
Where to find them.

I like the sculpture of your ears.
I like the way your profile disappears
Whenever you decide to turn and face me.
I'd like to cross two hemispheres
And have you chase me.
I'd like to smuggle you across frontiers
Or sail with you at night into Tangiers.
I'd like you to embrace me.

I'd like to see you ironing your skirt
And cancelling other dates.
I'd like to button up your shirt.
I like the way your chest inflates.
I'd like to soothe you when you're hurt
Or frightened senseless by invertebrates.

I'd like you even if you were malign
And had a yen for sudden homicide.
I'd let you put insecticide
Into my wine.
I'd even like you if you were the Bride of Frankenstein
Or something ghoulish out of Mamoulian's Jekyll and Hyde.
I'd even like you as my Julian
Of Norwich or Cathleen ni Houlihan.
How melodramatic
If you were something muttering in attics
Like Mrs Rochester or a student of Boolean mathematics.
You are the end of self-abuse.
You are the eternal feminine.
I'd like to find a good excuse
To call on you and find you in.
I'd like to put my hand beneath your chin.
And see you grin.
I'd like to taste your Charlotte Russe,
I'd like to feel my lips upon your skin,
I'd like to make you reproduce.
I'd like you in my confidence.
I'd like to be your second look.
I'd like to let you try the French Defence
And mate you with my rook.
I'd like to be your preference
And hence
I'd like to be around when you unhook.
I'd like to be your only audience,
The final name in your appointment book,
Your future tense

Valentine - John Fuller

p.s. It's a poem.

Ha!

2007-10-30T07:33:56Z

What book are you?

You're Siddhartha!

by Hermann Hesse

You simply don't know what to believe, but you're willing to try
anything once. Western values, Eastern values, hedonism and minimalism, you've spent
some time in every camp. But you still don't have any idea what camp you belong in.
This makes you an individualist of the highest order, but also really lonely. It's
time to chill out under a tree. And realize that at least you believe in
ferries.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

*snickers* Ferries.

siiiiick

2007-05-06T10:20:43Z

Ugh.

If you've never had allergic reactions that leave every soft surface inside your mouth raw, itching, and on fire, I envy you. I've been constantly scrubbing my tongue against the roof of my mouth for almost a month now. Allergies suck, man.

*pouts like a child*

Stupid oversensitivity. Stupid lungs. Stupid nose. Stupid skin. Stupid everything. The insides of my ears even itch. I groan like someone in a porno when I've got a Qtip in there.

And of course my asthma chooses now to kick in, so I can't actually breathe, either. That's really the most dangerous part of it all, but god, the itching.

Being like this always makes me feel so damn helpless.

Anyway, for the few people who might be wondering - possibly, hypothetically - I'm behind on lj everything because I'm sick. Not dead, not forgetting things I said I'd do, just really pathetically sick.

movie time!

2007-04-11T10:38:36Z

Hot damn!

A friend of mine got his hands on advanced screening tickets of Hot Fuzz and I just have to say that the movie is entirely too fantastic to believe. The editing is lovely, in true Edgar Wright fashion - there are a few scenes that I just can't wait to be able to pause and slow-mo and study once this gem is on DVD. Oh, the way they tied in separate storylines happening simultaneously was just gorgeous- and the entire movie is just so beautifully funny and engaging and well written, well acted, well shot that I still can't stop grinning. Aaah! Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, you do my heart good. Never part.

I love black comedies.

Also: this movie is so easily slashable it's amazing. I mean, really.

Note: there are no plot spoilers behind the cuts, I promise. Just opinions.

And if you have no idea what movie I'm talking about and are curious, here:

So, this movie is a parody of Buddy Cop movies, Action Cop movies, the whole genre, similar to the way Shaun of the Dead lovingly parodies zombie flicks, and in fact the two movies are done by the same director, writers, and parts of the cast. They're also very British, very wry, and very well done. I could write more, but then I'd never make it to class tomorrow. If you want to know more, go on and look up Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz on IMDB or google. Go on, now. Walk, don't run!

Yay! and also Grr.

2007-03-31T07:49:30Z

I have survived! Barely! Yay! A teacher wants to keep a copy of one of my animations as a teaching reference for next semester! Yay! My waterfall was kick ass! Yay! I wrote a five page essay in basically two hours, and I didn't suck! Holy crap how did I do that, and yay! But another class I was so behind in I only barely scraped out a passing grade! Not so yay, but I don't even care! I made it out of this semester aliiiiiiive.

Seriously though, I have got to stop doing this to myself.

Also:

OH MY GOD, THE MONDAY BEFORE LAST MY CAR WAS RANDOMLY EGGED AND I AM STILL SO VERY ANGRY. WHAT THE HELL. THIS IS THE ONLY CAR I HAVE HAD THAT IS EVEN HALFWAY NICE. PARDON MY LANGUAGE BUT GOD DAMN THE LITTLE BORED SUBURBAN SHIT FOR BRAINS THAT DID IT. MOTHERFUCKING BLOODY HELL. YOU WANNA MESS WITH SOMEONE, GROW SOME BALLS AND DO IT WHERE THEY CAN SEE YOU, YOU ASSHOLE. THE EGG GOT *INTO* MY CAR. THIS IS THE MOST UNFUNNY MALICIOUS ACT OF RANDOM CRAP. I AM SO FUCKING ANGRY. To sum up, some people need to grow the hell up. Oh, I reeeally want to just find them and break their kneecaps. It may be illegal, but I would feel so much better.

*sigh* A girl can dream.

Ma'am, you need to calm down

2007-03-11T05:40:45Z

So, it may be actually possible to metaphorically drown yourself.

*whimpers* I am so behind right now. Why can't I have a spring break like everybody else???

Sigh.

I do, however, now have a fantastic and enormous painted fan for my wall, and have seen Pan's Labryrinth three times. I love that movie. Which, really, is one of the most ridiculous words in the English language, if you think about it. Movie. Because they're pictures that move. Isn't that so clever? I keep seeing in my head little cartoon people from the '20s (or whenever cinematography was invented) gesturing to each other excitedly with lots of waving arms, exclaiming, "Why yes, Gertrude, pictures that move! We shall call them movies! It's brilliant!"

Sometimes slang is just so embarrassing.

day 14

2007-02-15T06:54:05Z

Title: Encore
Description: 50 more flower icons, just because. I'm dedicating these, again, to my amazing, exhausted mother.

ETA: Ack! Now with cut tag! So sorry!
ETA2: Aaaaaand now all 50 are up, instead of just 40. *facepalm*

My favorite flowers, by the way, are orchids. They're all so strikingly female-shaped.

14 Valentines: V-Day.

day 13

2007-02-14T06:51:14Z

Title: I Knew A Florist, Once
Description: 30 floral icons, in honor of my mother. She is a florist, and neither she nor anyone else in the industry will get any sleep until February 15th. If you will be buying flowers tomorrow, please - be kind. The last time I worked a V-Day in her shop, it was a 15 hour shift with maybe one ten minute break, for everyone.

(All the floral designers I know, by the way, call Valentine's "D-Day".)

Please comment what you take, and feel free to edit these as you like.

14 Valentines: Women and Work.

Day 12

2007-02-13T07:01:13Z

Description: art, SGA, Teyla - work safe, or as work safe as Teyla's stickfighting ensemble ever is.
Title: Like a Dance.

Today's theme is 14 Valentines: Voting, and all I can really say is this: if we do not vote, we have no say, and if we aren't speaking for ourselves, then who will? If we do not work to give others the right to choose for themselves, then the world will never be any different than it is right now. And, frankly, right now is not looking so hot.

Day 11 - also, Day 10

2007-02-11T09:55:58Z

Title: Watermarks
Description: art, work safe, SGA.

"History of Maps" got me thinking, and when I think, I draw. This is a cover of sorts for History of Maps by rageprufrock, so beware: there are possibly spoilers for the story beyond this point.

14 Valentines: Sexual Assault and Rape.

14 Valentines: Women In Sports.

day 7

2007-02-08T07:04:02Z

So sorry I'm behind, rl was... odd today.

Description: [art] Sandman 'verse, work safe
Title: Just A Glance

Death, sitting and watching the world go by.

If I can find where I left them, I have several links to add to this post - but later.

14 Valentines: Hunger.

day 6

2007-02-07T06:33:28Z

Okay, brief summary of PCOS, a condition I'm intimately familiar with.

Quoting from here: "It may not be a household word, but polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS, is a common endocrine abnormality that affects anywhere from four to ten percent of women of reproductive age. It is one of the leading causes of infertility in women and can have other serious implications for women's health and lifestyle and, if left untreated, can have serious medical consequences, from heart disease to diabetes to uterine cancer.

The symptoms include erratic menstrual cycles, acne, excessive facial and body hair, thinning of the scalp, and obesity. While the diagnosis can sound scary, there are treatments which can reduce the symptoms and improve a woman's quality of life."

Some links I've found helpful or enlightening:
An overview of PCOS.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Association, a nonprofit run by women with PCOS.
SoulCysters, an online community devoted to the issue. Very helpful.
A very simple guideline of the symptoms and consequences.

Now, onto the fic!

Title: Monkey Wrench
Description: fanfic, SGA AU. "On Monday and Wednesdays John sits behind the parts counter. His clothes are always dotted with grease, the strong familiar scent of machine oil following him like the finest cologne."
Rating: PG for language, with UST if you want there to be.

On Monday and Wednesdays John sits behind the parts counter. His clothes are always dotted with grease, the strong familiar scent of machine oil following him like the finest cologne. Depending on who is doing the talking, John is either Sheppard, Shep or Boss. Rodney they call Primadonna, New Guy, or Hey Asshole, but when it comes to crunch time he’s your go-to guy: diabolically clever and *fast*.

"You got that damn alternator in yet, Sheppard?"

Rodney leans one arm on the counter, worrying his smashed pinkie nail with his teeth and speaking out of one side of his mouth. "Or are our cheapass employers expecting me to fix this one with a paperclip and a fucking soldering iron, too?"

John smiles, voice low and deceptively lazy. "Nah, McKay, they figure this time you won't even need the iron," he leans in conspirationally, eyes wide, "just some chewing gum and that stick up your ass."

Rodney's elbow slips off the counter in surprise. Recovering, he turns his glare on John's smirking face, but the corner of his own mouth twitches rebelliously upward and his eyes brighten tellingly.

"Quit with your pitiful attempts at humor, jackass, and just find me the alternator."

"You know you love it," John calls to Rodney's retreating back and raised middle finger. He then makes sure to slouch even lower in his seat for another thirty seconds before standing up and heading to the nearest phone.

Tapping on the metal counter with his free hand, John dials a number. "Hey, yeah, this is Sheppard over at Lant's garage, is Cole around? Hmm, okay, how about Harv?" He taps a little faster and thinks wistfully about a sandwich. "Cool, I can wait."

***

14 Valentines: Women's Health.

day 5

2007-02-06T04:00:47Z

Description: Fanart, Delirium from the Sandman 'verse.
Title: I've Got You Under My Skin

14 Valentines: Economics and Wealth.

day 4

2007-02-05T04:00:11Z

May we all find people who suit us as much as these four people suit each other.

Description: fanart, SGA, work safe.
Title: Team

14 Valentines: Domestic Violence.

day 3

2007-02-04T05:08:21Z

Okay, I am just posting the bare bones of this now to get it in while it's still Day 3 - sorry, RL has gotten in the way today.

In 2 hours, when I get back, I will upload some drawings to this post from my life drawing class, all sketches of different women, in honor of the body image theme today. Now, I may be biased because I spend four hours at a time watching these people, but regardless of shape I find all of these women to be incredibly beautiful, and am grateful for the opportunity to draw them every week.

ETA: here are the first two! Oops - now with cut tag.
ETA 2: four more.

Project Title: We Are Beautiful.

14 Valentines: Body Image.

day 2

2007-02-02T11:29:05Z

Okay, a little bit of personal history here. (This began as a response I left earlier tonight in this post, and it got me to thinking.) Growing up, I never felt like I was doing it right. I was told directly and indirectly by everyone but my parents that I was too much, that I was not acting like a normal little girl - and I believed it. I went from the little girl who danced on tables and told wild stories and raced the boys and asked the questions to the quiet, shy girl who kept her ideas to herself and waited. Well I, for one, am tired of this. I am tired of trying to "behave," tired of having friends tell me they would never have guessed I was so funny, dorky, fantastic, and relaxed when they first met me. I am allowed to be myself, dammit.

Description: fanart (work safe) and Artist/Media recs
Title: Women in the Arts

Teyla Emmagan, martial artist, and Lt. Laura Cadman, tap dance extraordinare.

Annnnd the second part of my post: a recs list, of sorts. These are all different media projects by women that I have seen recently, ranging from choreography to comics to animation.

To start with, there is the Ok Go treadmill dance, Here It Goes Again, and while the band is all male, the video itself was completely choreographed by Trish Sie, sister to the lead singer. She also was the creator behind their earlier dance video, A Million Ways.

Next, we have A softer world. Now, this is a little hard to describe. It comes in comic strip format, but is made of fanciful poetry/prose by a boy named Joey combined with surprisingly haunting photography by a girl named Emily. My favorite piece has these words: when we die, we come back different, like with greener eyes, or as some far off star.

Then comes Stuff Sucks, a comic done by Liz Greenfield. I love her use of color and design. The story is about love, or course, but also record stores, thievery, and overbearing mothers.

Another lady whose comic is fantastic is Danielle Corsetto's Girls With Slingshots . Very funny and a little dirty - in the best way.

Okay, next up: Jen wang's artwork here. I love every single line she has ever drawn. Everything is natural, sensual, stylized, and gorgeous, and there is something about this wordless short comic that warms my heart.

Clio Chang is another amazingly talented artist. Check out both her animation shorts and her art, as well as her long - term comic Cascadia and this short one Wildlife Conservation .

Also just as amazing are Hope Larson Ericka Moen, Catia Chien, Dylan Meconis, Vera Brosgol [especially her animation work], whoever made the comic Nowhere Girl, and a comic called Fallen by a girl who goes by Aido.

Keep creating, everyone.

14 Valentines: Women in the Arts.