kerravonsen

Howdy, friends and strangers!

This is my intro post. I figured I'd better have one.

This journal is a mix of fannish stuff, ponderings, computer geekery, craft and random cookery experiments. More personal posts are friends-locked, some with tighter filters than others. ( things you should know about meCollapse ) ( other sites of mineCollapse )

Transformative Works Policy

If you wish to transform my work, I have Transformative Works Policy to clarify stuff in advance!

Other stuff

If you want to write fic for me, here is my Generic Ficathon Elaboration Post.

After you have friended/subscribed to me, I would appreciate it if you drop me a comment here, saying hello and what brought you here. No need to ask permission beforehand, but it would be nice to give me a note afterwards.

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1081811.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

Still behind on Doctor Who. Just finished watching The Eaters of Light.
Going to ramble on a bit about it and previous ones.
( spoilers will be eatenCollapse )

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1090098.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

Go look here for a fascinating discussion about men, women, the world, and the chimerical concept of "the rules".

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1089953.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

• SLEEP

That is all. I'll do actual stuff tomorrow.

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1088856.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

Well, that was interesting.
Again, there were bits of dialogue I missed. Lucky there's a transcript here.
( spoilers will melt into gooCollapse )

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1088311.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

So, what can one do with odd socks, besides throw them out? I would like to be recycling-minded with the 11 odd socks which I discovered when I sorted ALL my socks yesterday.

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1087522.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

So, watched the next Doctor Who episode on my list.
Wow. Just... wow.

Transcript here.
( spoilers will go down the rabbit-holeCollapse )

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1087210.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

The last five minutes of this took me so aback that the rest of the episode faded in comparison.
( SPOILERS WILL BE SPOILEREDCollapse )

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1086465.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

There is a week to go before Continuum XIII, and I will be there, and on the Sunday afternoon, I will have a table at the "Craft Market" they are doing as part of the convention.

I am trying not to panic about the things I have to get done before then; I keep on telling myself "What gets done will get done, and what doesn't get done, won't get done." If worst comes to worst, I won't be wearing any costumes. If second-worst happens, I'll toss in a whole bunch of costume accoutrements without actually planning what I'm wearing. Because costumes come second to preparing for the craft market. I've been crocheting scrunchies like mad, bending aluminium cuff bracelets... and that's been the easy stuff. I want to have as great a variety of stuff as possible, to see what sells. Of course, it may be that NOTHING sells. Ah well.

( Read more...Collapse )

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1086063.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

Seanan McGuire is a guest of honour at Continuum XIII in June. I've made it a resolution to read at least one work by a GoH before the convention, rather than afterwards. I find it increases my enjoyment of the convention. And, look, I've read two: "Indexing" and "Every Heart A Doorway".

I think I'd say that Indexing is what would happen if you crossed Jim Hines' "The Stepsister Scheme" and his "Libriomancer" and upped the darkness a notch or two. With (forgive me Jim) better characterisation and more lyrical descriptions. I was surprised that I ended up liking the bitchy character quite a lot; funny how one can completely flip one's assessment of a character when you discover the motives behind their behaviour. The ensemble cast... you might consider them a team of firemen who have been dealing with a massive outbreak of serial arsonists in the middle of a drought in the height of summer. Only the "fire" is the intrusion of Fairy Tales into the real world. I'm reminded of this quote from Doctor Who:

"They want to kill us!"
"They want you to be happy. Killing you is just a side-effect."

The Fairy Tales want their Ever After. Killing you is just a side-effect.

"Every Heart A Doorway" is also urban fantasy; it again has the theme that "ever after" is seldom happy in the real world. In this case, it considers what happens to children after they come back from their portal-fantasies -- when they come back up the rabbit-hole, come out of the mirror, close the wardrobe door. When they come back changed and their parents can't accept it. Again with the good characterisation and the lyrical descriptions. Also again with the darkness. There are parts of this which are downright gruesome. I'm not very likely to read the upcoming prequel, which is the backstory of Jack and Jill, because I'm reeeeeally not into vampires. The third book (coming in 2018) looks more appealing to me.

I did also, a few years ago, start listening to an audiobook of the first October Daye novel, "Rosemary and Rue" but I couldn't get into it. Makes me think of the way I couldn't really get into Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series either... I think they're just past the line of how much darkness I can deal with in my fantasy. Just too much grimness and gloom, of the "life sucks" variety.

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1085902.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

The Timeline of River Song; beautifully edited clipshow of River Song's appearances in chronological order.

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1085635.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

I need a Twelfth Doctor icon! Where's a good place to look for one that's freely available?
I kept on thinking that I would make myself one, but I clearly haven't.

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1085402.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

Yes, more Doctor Who.
Tropes are side-stepped, Bill gets to be clever.

Transcript is here

( spoilers will be consumedCollapse )

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1085085.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

Yes, I am behind. I will eventually catch up, I'm certain.
Liked it. Bill was magnificent.
Though I had to turn the volume up to maximum to catch what they were saying, and didn't always succeed.
Transcript here.

Y'know, I would hate to be a companion. But having the Doctor as my own personal tutor? That would be awesome squared. I meant to say that in relation to "The Pilot", but I'm saying it now.
( spoilers will fall through thin iceCollapse )

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1084890.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

I was going to say "happy songs" but they aren't just happy, they are songs which try to be encouraging. I'm pondering the nature of encouraging songs, and the different approaches they take. Some of them mean well, but end up being DIScouraging instead.

There are a whole pile of "encouraging" songs that I'm not going to list here, which I find more irritating than anything. They're the ones which declare that "you are special" and that all you have to do is just go for it and believe in yourself and everything will work out. No. To "believe in yourself" may be a necessary condition, but it is not sufficient. These songs can be downright discouraging, because they imply that success is as easy as snapping your fingers to summon the right attitude, and that after that, there won't be any problems. Far too naive and simplistic for me. Almost bordering on blame-the-victim, too; that if you don't succeed, there is something wrong with you because you weren't optimistic enough.

( Read more...Collapse )

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1084403.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

Mmmm, I liked this one. I like how Bill is sassy in her own Bill way. And again with the non-usual questions.

Transcript is here.

( spoilers will be made to smileCollapse )

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1083910.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

Yes, I am behind! I am catching up.

I rather liked this one. Oh boy, this is reminding me why I like Twelve. Very frustrating: there were points at which I couldn't catch more than one word in three of what Bill was saying. Am I going deaf, or did other people have that problem too?

Oooh, I found a transcript! Here! (goes and reads)

( spoilers will be pursued to the end of the universeCollapse )

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1083782.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

And the word is: rodomontade

rodomontade:
n 1: vain and empty boasting [syn: {braggadocio}, {bluster}]

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1083571.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

Well, so LJ has a new user agreement, and have locked everyone out until they agree.
So I signed, in order to have access to my own blog. Grrr. Very bad form, LJ!
Whether or not the agreement is actually dodgy, it has been handled very badly... but since when has that been a surprise for LJ management? (Since before LJ was sold for the first time, that's when)

So, some people are panicking and deleting their journals, some are being less drastic. I'm not inclined to delete my journal (the past is the past), nor am I inclined to stop following the people/communities I'm following on LJ (why should I stop doing what I enjoy?). The only thing I'm considering is to stop crossposting from Dreamwidth. But... if I'm still going to be following people, and commenting, is there really any point in stopping crossposting? Especially since there are people following me on LJ who don't have Dreamwidth accounts. (FYI, my account on Dreamwidth has the same username as this one, if any of you are moving to Dreamwidth and want to follow me there.) My account on LJ is a permanent account, so it's not like I'm paying them any money now.

It is slightly amusing to see the complaints of people "not wanting to be subjected to another country's laws" (that is, Russian law rather than US law) when non-US-ians are subjected to another country's laws every time they use a US-based website! Even more so when US laws like the DMCA are very dodgy laws anyway. Remember Dmitry Sklyarov?

Would my posts be censored? If they were, the full version would be available on DW.
Would they revoke my agreement and delete my journal? If they did, I'm not going to do their work for them!
Would they put ads on my journal? I don't know, the agreement is unclear on that point. Bloody annoying if they do.

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1083257.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.

Saw this on twitter this morning:



Of course, everyone is mocking the original tweet, but it did get me thinking. Because, as a Christian, it has annoyed me for a long time that I can no longer use a rainbow as a symbol of God's love. Because the symbol is more commonly recognised in these times, as belonging to another group, symbolising something completely different. And that makes it feel like it has been stolen. Is that cultural appropriation? I'm not sure that it is; after all, the rainbow is up there in the sky, and people have used it before the LGBTQ movement to symbolise other things, such as ending racial discrimination. So why do I feel as if it has been stolen? Partly, I expect, because the LGBTQ symbol represents something completely anathema to God's teachings. Other uses of the rainbow haven't been for something hostile to Christianity. Does that hostility make it cultural appropriation? I don't know. It is something, but I'm not sure whether "cultural appropriation" is the right term for it.

Hey, thoughtful people, what do you think?

This entry was originally posted at http://kerravonsen.dreamwidth.org/1083083.html. (Comments ) Respond here, or respond on the Dreamwidth post, as you prefer. You can use your DW login or OpenId there.