Borrowed from ryuutchi

Rock the Meme!
1. Go to the Wikipedia home page and click random article. That is your band's name.
2. Click random article again; that is your album name.
3. Click random article 15 more times; those are the tracks on your album.


My band's name is Chlorosarin, our first album is Finningley.

The tracks include:
1. Phaphlu (apparently we have a place names theme)
2. Malar (yep, definitely a theme)
3. Terra Ceia
4. Katoomba Scenic World
5. Unital
6. Multimedia Messaging Service
7. Berlin Painter
8. Percy Quin State Park
9. Fatboy
10. List of neighbourhoods in Toronto
11. Trent Steed
12. Till Death Do Us Part
13. 5th Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles
14. Christopher Orr
15. Maxime Chaya

Amazing what you can get done in critique.


ART:  A Friendly Game of Go
Featuring:  Shiranui Genma and Nara Shikaku

http://fuyunofuhei.deviantart.com/art/A-Friendly-Game-of-Go-68864124

http://www.cracked.com/article_15643_5-scientific-reasons-zombie-apocalypse-could-actually-happen.html

http://www.cracked.com/video_14762_zombie-press-conference.html

...and ninja

http://www.theonion.com/content/video/ninja_parade_slips_through_town

http://listverse.com/bizarre/top-10-ghosts-videos/

Some are creepy, some are underwhelming, some are just silly.  But in the spirit of Halloween, let's see some ghost stories.

I am jumping on the meme bandwagon here to ask you, o people that read this, especially those who actually remember my writing...

So what are the essential characteristics of my writing?

or, to gank wholeheartedly from Kiks:

"What do you think are the quote-unquote "trademarks" of the fiction that I write? What type of themes or characterization notes or quirks keep on manifesting in my writing? Essentially, what do you think is a stereotypically "WinterofourDiscontent" way of writing fic?"

with love,
-me-

Dear Friends and Neighbors-

Recently it has come to the attention of our illustrious leader that concerns are being expressed about one of our members in connection with several underage males. We here at Akatsuki are sensitive to your concerns, and would like to reassure the community that the member in question has been dismissed from the organisation.

We wish to make it clear that our organization does not condone these practices. At Akatsuki, we treasure the goodwill of the community, and would like to remind them that their underage males are completely safe around us.* Some of our members have younger brothers,** and understand the fear of something untoward happening to them.***

As a sign of our commitment and to help allay any lingering concerns, we would like to extend an invitation for any interested parties to attend an informational session and potluck this coming Tuesday at 7:30 in the evening. We will be discussing our plans to create new jobs**** and answering any questions you may have.***** Snacks will be provided, but please byob.

Sincerely,
The Members of Akatsuki
"If you're not with us, you're probably dead."

*Unless they happen to be a jinchuuriki
**for now
***Like, say, their entire family being killed
****You can never have too many minions
*****Well, except the ones about our secret plans.

Sadly, a womb and humour cannot exist in the same fragile human body.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/01/hitchens200701

What a wonderfully accurate study it must have been, to have gotten results from a sample size of twenty volunteers.

Other favourite quotes include:

"And because fear is the mother of superstition, and because they are partly ruled in any case by the moon and the tides, women also fall more heavily for dreams, for supposedly significant dates like birthdays and anniversaries, for romantic love, crystals and stones, lockets and relics, and other things that men know are fit mainly for mockery and limericks."

I fully expect the next line to reference this deplorable push for women's suffrage.

It's 2007, and I'm still being told in print that my ability to reproduce prevents me from succeeding at other things?

Males must indeed be terrified of our making babies if some of them continue showing such calculated unwillingness to look beyond it. "Oh yeah? You can create life? Well... you can't do anything else. Like... math (former president of Harvard Lawrence H. Summers) or comedy (Christopher Hitchens). In fact, we'll make it so all you're allowed to do is make babies." (Thank you, Bush Administration, for my status as "pre-pregnant." Finally, an excuse to make someone else clean the litter box.)

I read it. We picked it up on the way back from Otakon. Took me about three hours, give or take.

I don't really have any reviews or comments or spoilers. I might once I've had time to really process it all... and then again...

I was moved. I cried at the end, not because of any particular outcome, but because it was over. Whatever anyone will say about the books... and from the look of my f-list, they're already saying a lot... HP moved people. It inspired people. For the first time in my memory, and likely the last, the whole world was as excited as I was about a book. That kind of connection... if I loved Harry Potter for nothing else, I would love it for that.

And for what it's worth... I thought it was a good book.

Canson Papers, an internationally known supplier of fine art and craft papers, has come out with a new line of sketchpads and drafting materials aimed at the booming North American comic and manga market. These products include comic book/manga art boards, cover sheets, layout pages, sketchpads, etc etc.

The products themselves are not bad ones, and certainly do fulfill a market niche. Well, aside from the basic sketchbooks, which are the same as the usual Canson ones only more expensive.

However.

This is the logo for the Fanboy line.



You will note several points of interest, fellow fanpersons:
1. We are all male.
2. We are tremendously unsightly.
3. We live in the basement. Probably because of the whole unsightly business. If we went out into the light, babies would cry and dogs bark uncontrollably. Chaos would ensue.

Now, it's a stereotype we've all been dealing with for years. But to have this put on a product targeted at us... They are, in effect, saying, "We think you're ugly, fat, nearsighted, and with questionable hygeine. But with all the money you've saved up from not leaving your parents' basement (and haircuts), you've got plently of cash to blow on our products! So buy now! Heck, get two!"

So please. If you object to being caricatured in this fashion, write them. Email Canson (canson@canson-us.com). Email stores that sell this line, which include Utrecht (customerservice@utrecht.com) and Dick Blick (custserv@dickblick.com) Tell the employees at your local art store, should it stock the Fanboy line. Let them know that this is offensive, and that you won't buy this product while they insult their target audience.

Retailers are very sensitive to consumer complaints, and there's a good chance that if enough people raise a fuss, they'll change their minds, their policies... and their logos.

Feel free to link to this from other places. I'm all about getting the word out.

(P.S. Yes, I realise that on the scale of Genocide in Darfur, the War in Iraq, or Universal Health Care, this hardly rates a blip. But that's not the point. The point is that while it's certainly not as wrong, it's still wrong. And we can change it pretty easily. So we owe it to ourselves to try.)

I'll be attending this year's ACen in Chicago (in spite of the planners being idjits).

I'll likely be cosplaying as Itachi on Friday and an onryo on Saturday.

The Belief-o-Matic at work:

Apparently I'm a Mahayana Buddhist. Believe me, I was as shocked as you are.

Happy (slightly early) Valentine's Day to everyone!

http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/48734842/

This morning, I noticed there was a new reply on a oneshot I'd posted in Scarlet Spiral.

...it's spam. An ad for Viagra. In a comment.

DO NOT SPAM MY FIC WITH VIAGRA ADS.

If they've found a way to start doing automatically generated comment spam, we're all doomed.

Fuckers.

I've already deleted it.

ps It's below zero here, not counting wind chill.

Sorry, no, it's not Naruto. It's not even anime. It's from the film Sky High.

...ye ghods, I'm slashing Disney films now.

[title] Waiting.
[author] fuyu_no_fuhei (Winter of our Discontent)
[fandom] Sky High
[pairing/rating] Will/Warren, Will/Layla implied. Gen.
[notes] For comixologist, who made me watch this movie for the gay.

( Everyone at Sky High expected that, after a decent recovery period consisting of at least one month but not more than six, Will Stronghold would get a new girlfriend. )

Comments appreciated, con/crit always welcome.

I'm midway through World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie Wars, by Max Brooks (writer of the Zombie Survival Guide, Standard Issue.) It is excellent, it is moving, it is engrossing...

...and I am totally sleeping with the machete next to my bed tonight.

You Are a Mermaid

You are a total daydreamer, and people tend to think you're flakier than you actually are. While your head is often in the clouds, you'll always come back to earth to help someone in need. Beyond being a caring person, you are also very intelligent and rational. You understand the connections of the universe better than almost anyone else.

What these two things mean, taken together, I rather shudder to think.

Well, in spite of the three Halloween parties I have thus far attended, I still feel like much of October passed while I wasn't looking. Which is a bloody shame, because October is probably my favourite month.

So in an effort to make those last embers of October glow a little longer...

My favourite part of October is the ghosts. For one month, it's okay to talk about ghosts. Historical societies offer ghost walks, the papers publish ghost stories...

So... have you ever seen or experienced anything paranormal? Has someone you know? Is where you live or somewhere nearby haunted?

If is... reply, and tell me about it?