![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thought for the day
Oct. 19th, 2010 09:48 amI would like to know why my right ankle, hamstring, shoulder, elbow, and wrist all hurt. :|
Dream I had tonight:
I went out for a walk in t-rex country. Ignoring all sorts of helpful advice on where t-rexes are most likely to be found and how to avoid running into one, I went scrambling along the steep bank of a lake, and look up, and find myself eye-to-eye with a t-rex that was coming down to the lake to drink.
Since everyone knows from Jurassic Park that t-rexes won't see you if you don't move, I froze. And had to cling to the bank and listen for several minutes while the t-rex and a couple other t-rexes behind it debated as to whether I was a person (and therefore food) or a tree.
Finally I took a risk and jumped down from the bank into the lake and tried to make my escape underwater while still keeping an eye on where the t-rexes were and hoping that they weren't big swimmers. Then one of my cats brushed against my legs and I flailed myself awake.
I don't even know.
I went out for a walk in t-rex country. Ignoring all sorts of helpful advice on where t-rexes are most likely to be found and how to avoid running into one, I went scrambling along the steep bank of a lake, and look up, and find myself eye-to-eye with a t-rex that was coming down to the lake to drink.
Since everyone knows from Jurassic Park that t-rexes won't see you if you don't move, I froze. And had to cling to the bank and listen for several minutes while the t-rex and a couple other t-rexes behind it debated as to whether I was a person (and therefore food) or a tree.
Finally I took a risk and jumped down from the bank into the lake and tried to make my escape underwater while still keeping an eye on where the t-rexes were and hoping that they weren't big swimmers. Then one of my cats brushed against my legs and I flailed myself awake.
I don't even know.
I need to stop having ideas.
Jan. 11th, 2009 10:01 pmCurrent terrible idea occupying my brain: a bizarre Gundam SEED/Star Wars AU hybrid. Mostly because Murrue would make a fantastic Jedi.
Of course, about the only thing this idea has going for it aside from that is that ridiculous Gundam SEED names and ridiculous Star Wars names go reasonably well together...
Of course, about the only thing this idea has going for it aside from that is that ridiculous Gundam SEED names and ridiculous Star Wars names go reasonably well together...
Glass Fleet
Aug. 1st, 2008 10:24 pmTonight I finally watched the last disc of Glass Fleet, so now I'm going to talk about it for a while.
( Cut for CRAZY. SO MUCH CRAZY. )
( Cut for CRAZY. SO MUCH CRAZY. )
Random Acts of Fandom: Glass Fleet etc.
Jul. 2nd, 2008 12:37 pmI am working idly on that Final Fantasy VIII fanfic idea I had way back when, involving Squall beginning to turn into Ultimecia as a Take That to everyone who thinks that Ultimecia was clearly intended, in canon, to be the future Rinoa. I find myself unable to resist the inclusion of a scene in which Seifer, hearing Squall's friends discussing a similar theory, declares, "That's the most retarded thing I ever heard."
I am also prodding dubiously at Glass Fleet, an anime series by the same studio that brought us The Count of Monte Cristo IN SPACE, Seven Samurai WITH MECHA, and Romeo and Juliet ON A FLOATING CITY WITH CROSSDRESSING AND MAGIC TREES. This one appears to be the French Revolution IN SPACE, kind of, except space has breathable atmosphere and tornados, and is bright green, and the spaceships use hand-loaded cannons. With actual cannonballs.
All the spaceship stuff is done in plasticky CG which I'm not keen on, but the main characters are interesting enough that I've put the series into my Netflix queue. I have only seen five episodes and have no idea yet what's going on, but, summed up: forces led by the vaguely skeevy Vetti Sforza overthrew the forces of some other pseudo-French aristocrats and took over the poorly-defined space empire in which the story takes place. Since this is the French Revolution IN SPACE, what this mostly means is that life is pretty good for the current aristocracy and crap for everyone else, inspiring some of the common folk to form the People's Army under the inspirational leadership of Michel Volban, a young aristocrat who nevertheless Really Cares About The People. Michel has two loyal retainers whose primary responsibilities appear to be to make sure Michel has a cup of hot tea from a civilized china tea service whenever it's needed. They also act as Michel's bodyguards occasionally, but they're not nearly as good at that as they are at making tea, which results in all three of them having to be rescued by a quirky band of space pirates in a snazzy glass spaceship under the command of "Cleo of the Wind," the last survivor of the original royal family.
Cleo wants to reinstate the monarchy and reclaim the throne. Michel wants Justice For The Common Folk. Vetti mostly appears to want Michel chained to a bed. Guess which one of the three of them is secretly a woman. Go on, guess. Hint: it's the one who hasn't gone running about shirtless for several scenes by the end of the fifth episode.
So, yeah. Glass Fleet: pretty much on crack. But reasonably fun crack, and I like Michel and Cleo pretty well so far. So we will see.
Have also been reading a metric nassload of manga courtesy of Jack, particularly Bleach, d.Gray-man, xxxHolic, and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, but also stuff like Bizenghast (creepy-cool Victorian Gothic ghost story), Azumanga Daioh (high school girls are CRAZY), Claymore, and Penguin Revolution (the entertainment business is WEIRD; also, recursive cross-dressing!). Most of it's pretty good.
I am also prodding dubiously at Glass Fleet, an anime series by the same studio that brought us The Count of Monte Cristo IN SPACE, Seven Samurai WITH MECHA, and Romeo and Juliet ON A FLOATING CITY WITH CROSSDRESSING AND MAGIC TREES. This one appears to be the French Revolution IN SPACE, kind of, except space has breathable atmosphere and tornados, and is bright green, and the spaceships use hand-loaded cannons. With actual cannonballs.
All the spaceship stuff is done in plasticky CG which I'm not keen on, but the main characters are interesting enough that I've put the series into my Netflix queue. I have only seen five episodes and have no idea yet what's going on, but, summed up: forces led by the vaguely skeevy Vetti Sforza overthrew the forces of some other pseudo-French aristocrats and took over the poorly-defined space empire in which the story takes place. Since this is the French Revolution IN SPACE, what this mostly means is that life is pretty good for the current aristocracy and crap for everyone else, inspiring some of the common folk to form the People's Army under the inspirational leadership of Michel Volban, a young aristocrat who nevertheless Really Cares About The People. Michel has two loyal retainers whose primary responsibilities appear to be to make sure Michel has a cup of hot tea from a civilized china tea service whenever it's needed. They also act as Michel's bodyguards occasionally, but they're not nearly as good at that as they are at making tea, which results in all three of them having to be rescued by a quirky band of space pirates in a snazzy glass spaceship under the command of "Cleo of the Wind," the last survivor of the original royal family.
Cleo wants to reinstate the monarchy and reclaim the throne. Michel wants Justice For The Common Folk. Vetti mostly appears to want Michel chained to a bed. Guess which one of the three of them is secretly a woman. Go on, guess. Hint: it's the one who hasn't gone running about shirtless for several scenes by the end of the fifth episode.
So, yeah. Glass Fleet: pretty much on crack. But reasonably fun crack, and I like Michel and Cleo pretty well so far. So we will see.
Have also been reading a metric nassload of manga courtesy of Jack, particularly Bleach, d.Gray-man, xxxHolic, and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, but also stuff like Bizenghast (creepy-cool Victorian Gothic ghost story), Azumanga Daioh (high school girls are CRAZY), Claymore, and Penguin Revolution (the entertainment business is WEIRD; also, recursive cross-dressing!). Most of it's pretty good.
[Nanowrimo] excerpt
Nov. 4th, 2007 01:33 am350 words. Blame ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ahumblepen for suggesting "cannibal" as a prompt.
There's a terminal standing open, its casing removed and its wiring and components pulled out and spread over the floor, the guts of eviscerated machinery spilled out and exposed to the air. Half a dozen other bits of electronics lie scattered around it, broken open and recklessly scavenged for their parts to create a Frankenstein's monster of a system, bits of wire patched together and insulated with lumpy layers of electrical tape, circuit boards and components rigged in, ill-fitting and sticking out at odd angles. The mad doctor responsible for this bastard abomination of makeshift engineering sits hunched over it with a screwdriver, grimly prying out another of its vitals and dragging it into the light for inspection.
After a moment it's tossed carelessly away with a hissing sigh of dissatisfaction; it clunks a few times against the floor before it comes to rest amidst an assortment of other technological disjecta membra. "No good. Damn it, that one's shot too."
There are some moments of groping about, but a replacement part fails to conjure itself up from amidst the scattered components, and he swears again and bangs his fist against the frame. "Damn it! Piece of--" A sharp edge of the metal frame splits the skin and his voice breaks off in a snarl as he brings his hand to his mouth, tasting the tang of his own blood. "Oh no you don't," he grumbles, the words muffled around his hand. "Don't think you're going to beat me by giving me tetanus, bitch."
The quick patter of footsteps from across the way stops short. "I think maybe you've been working on that a little too long."
His head comes up and swivels toward her, and his attention fixes almost immediately on the object in her hands. "What's that?" He points.
"Just a notebook..."
"Does it work?"
"...kind of?"
"Well, give it here!" He gestures impatiently, grabbing at the air until she's come close enough that he can snatch the electronic notebook out of her hands and apply the screwdriver with determined, murderous vigor.
ahumblepen for suggesting "cannibal" as a prompt.There's a terminal standing open, its casing removed and its wiring and components pulled out and spread over the floor, the guts of eviscerated machinery spilled out and exposed to the air. Half a dozen other bits of electronics lie scattered around it, broken open and recklessly scavenged for their parts to create a Frankenstein's monster of a system, bits of wire patched together and insulated with lumpy layers of electrical tape, circuit boards and components rigged in, ill-fitting and sticking out at odd angles. The mad doctor responsible for this bastard abomination of makeshift engineering sits hunched over it with a screwdriver, grimly prying out another of its vitals and dragging it into the light for inspection.
After a moment it's tossed carelessly away with a hissing sigh of dissatisfaction; it clunks a few times against the floor before it comes to rest amidst an assortment of other technological disjecta membra. "No good. Damn it, that one's shot too."
There are some moments of groping about, but a replacement part fails to conjure itself up from amidst the scattered components, and he swears again and bangs his fist against the frame. "Damn it! Piece of--" A sharp edge of the metal frame splits the skin and his voice breaks off in a snarl as he brings his hand to his mouth, tasting the tang of his own blood. "Oh no you don't," he grumbles, the words muffled around his hand. "Don't think you're going to beat me by giving me tetanus, bitch."
The quick patter of footsteps from across the way stops short. "I think maybe you've been working on that a little too long."
His head comes up and swivels toward her, and his attention fixes almost immediately on the object in her hands. "What's that?" He points.
"Just a notebook..."
"Does it work?"
"...kind of?"
"Well, give it here!" He gestures impatiently, grabbing at the air until she's come close enough that he can snatch the electronic notebook out of her hands and apply the screwdriver with determined, murderous vigor.
Two "oh my God, you must be joking" calls in a row!
First the woman who called in absolutely outraged because she is being penalized for excessive returns on her account - and by "excessive" I mean that in the past less than four years she'd actually charged less than five thousand dollars but somehow contrived to return more than eleven thousand, and had actually paid only a bit over eight hundred - and saying that she plans to sue the company because she was given a hard time over claiming a credit balance refund in the amount of $245 because she has made three returns but no purchases over the past twelve months...
...then the woman who came into a store with a statement dated 3/31/04 wanting to claim the credit balance it reflected, and who, when I advised her that it would have been refunded after three statements, persisted in asking questions about what she should do in order to be able to claim the credit. Which was $50.20. Somehow I managed not to tell her that what she should do is accept that after more than three years, that ship has pretty much sailed.
Plus a store associate giving a customer a stupidly hard time about trying to get him to look up her account number, and demanding that I give her whatever information I had because it was not part of his duties - never mind that only one of our lines is permitted to give out account numbers, and I only have the extension that the associates dial in to it, because it has to be an associate who calls in so that they can verify picture ID...
The world is full of assholes today.
First the woman who called in absolutely outraged because she is being penalized for excessive returns on her account - and by "excessive" I mean that in the past less than four years she'd actually charged less than five thousand dollars but somehow contrived to return more than eleven thousand, and had actually paid only a bit over eight hundred - and saying that she plans to sue the company because she was given a hard time over claiming a credit balance refund in the amount of $245 because she has made three returns but no purchases over the past twelve months...
...then the woman who came into a store with a statement dated 3/31/04 wanting to claim the credit balance it reflected, and who, when I advised her that it would have been refunded after three statements, persisted in asking questions about what she should do in order to be able to claim the credit. Which was $50.20. Somehow I managed not to tell her that what she should do is accept that after more than three years, that ship has pretty much sailed.
Plus a store associate giving a customer a stupidly hard time about trying to get him to look up her account number, and demanding that I give her whatever information I had because it was not part of his duties - never mind that only one of our lines is permitted to give out account numbers, and I only have the extension that the associates dial in to it, because it has to be an associate who calls in so that they can verify picture ID...
The world is full of assholes today.
Workrant: No, Really, I Heard That
Apr. 13th, 2007 11:47 amA brief note from a customer service phone monkey, to anyone who may ever need to call any kind of customer service for any reason:
If you find yourself needing to do business over the phone, or needing to call for customer service, please do everyone a favor and do not sit there eating while you are talking on the phone. Trust me, we can hear you. It sounds gross. Would you sit there chomping on nachos while doing business face-to-face at the bank? Stop it.
I'm not talking about coming back from placing a customer on hold and hearing eating noises, mind you; I'm talking about listening to them chewing while they are talking to me. And it never fails to baffle me. Why do that? Do they really think that because I can't see them, I can't tell?
Eugh.
Crossposted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
customers_suck
If you find yourself needing to do business over the phone, or needing to call for customer service, please do everyone a favor and do not sit there eating while you are talking on the phone. Trust me, we can hear you. It sounds gross. Would you sit there chomping on nachos while doing business face-to-face at the bank? Stop it.
I'm not talking about coming back from placing a customer on hold and hearing eating noises, mind you; I'm talking about listening to them chewing while they are talking to me. And it never fails to baffle me. Why do that? Do they really think that because I can't see them, I can't tell?
Eugh.
Crossposted to
customers_suck
Workgripe: Grrr Condescension
Jan. 23rd, 2007 05:53 pmFunny the things that'll send your mood spiraling into the toilet.
God, I hate people who get overly literal about polite pleasantries. Yes, yes, too bad I couldn't wave my magic wand and make a gift card magically appear in your hand, but I did offer to connect you to the store where you made your purchases so that they could correct whatever error was made and get your gift card to you. You declined. When I ask if there is anything else I can help you with, therefore, the correct answer is not to reply in a syrupy, patronising voice, "Did you help me with anything?"
Once again I'm left wondering why people seem to believe it's perfectly okay to say crap like that. I could hear "ha ha I have the moral high ground" oozing out of her voice.
God, I hate people who get overly literal about polite pleasantries. Yes, yes, too bad I couldn't wave my magic wand and make a gift card magically appear in your hand, but I did offer to connect you to the store where you made your purchases so that they could correct whatever error was made and get your gift card to you. You declined. When I ask if there is anything else I can help you with, therefore, the correct answer is not to reply in a syrupy, patronising voice, "Did you help me with anything?"
Once again I'm left wondering why people seem to believe it's perfectly okay to say crap like that. I could hear "ha ha I have the moral high ground" oozing out of her voice.
Because fanfiction.net hurts me and today, apparently, is a Stupid Fandom Day, it's time for a thrilling episode of Bad Gundam SEED Fanon Theater!
Mostly regarding stupid Mwu and Murrue fanon, because that is mostly what I read.
( Meet Our Cast of Characters )
Mostly regarding stupid Mwu and Murrue fanon, because that is mostly what I read.
( Meet Our Cast of Characters )
grumble mumble
Jul. 18th, 2006 09:17 amSomeone make me stop reading the Gundam SEED fanfic at fanfiction.net. It's not getting any better. This, honestly, kind of skeeves me just a little, enough that I would really like to say something, but there is no nice way to say "I don't even recognize this character, and by the way it's a little creepy that you seem to prefer him as a man-child rather than an adult."
Restraining urge to leave a review; arguing characterization in reviews is something I try to avoid. Perhaps I will complain about bad fanon in my own journal later instead. Just for fun.
Restraining urge to leave a review; arguing characterization in reviews is something I try to avoid. Perhaps I will complain about bad fanon in my own journal later instead. Just for fun.
Random acts of Fandom: POLL
Jun. 20th, 2006 07:46 pmSo, I have this webspace. I haven't used it for anything yet aside from stashing image files and pimping mp3s to people.
I kind of want to put an actual site in there. But then the question becomes, what goes in it?
[Poll #752523]
Also, found when perusing FF.net:
Gundam Seed: Freedom's Echo by Patriot-of-USA
...wait, what?
I kind of want to put an actual site in there. But then the question becomes, what goes in it?
[Poll #752523]
Also, found when perusing FF.net:
Gundam Seed: Freedom's Echo by Patriot-of-USA
In the War on Terror, NSA Agent Alex Kennedy leads a USA Special Forces squad against Al Qaeda. However, ZAFT and the United Nations intend to stop him. Even worse, he finds that one of his enemies is his brother: Athrun!
...wait, what?
(no subject)
May. 16th, 2006 08:10 pmOkay, it's been all over LJ - I heard about it from persephoneflame - but, wow. Just... wow.
With a side of OMG WTF BBQ.
New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon.
Words fail me. I just - I cannot fathom how this is considered acceptable. I mean, I understand the desire to decrease the infant mortality rate. But you do not do it by acting like the possibility that a woman might, one of these days, get pregnant is more important than her preferences and intentions are - regardless of whether she is sexually active, lesbian, or celibate; regardless of whether or not she is actively trying to avoid getting pregnant.
I am willing to accept that there is some room to argue the well-being of an unborn child over the preferences of the mother - to a point - but when you start acting like potential children not even conceived are more important than a woman's free will and control over her own life, that is going way too far. The message here may be well-meant, but it still reads "the most important thing about you is your ability to bear children." And alongside that message is the onepersephoneflame stated more clearly than I can, involving blaming women for the infant mortality rate instead of looking at other factors of the damn healthcare system.
I am not a baby factory. I have no intentions of having children; I am not maternal. I am damn well celibate, and while it is distantly possible that God's gift to women might appear out of nowhere one of these days and sweep me off my feet and into a torrid affair, the most likely chance of me getting pregnant at this point in my life would be if I were raped - which I also go out of my way to avoid, thanks - and if that were to happen, I would have bigger goddamn problems.
I am fucking well not pre-pregnant.
Damn, but this is the angriest I have been in a while now. Attitudes like this make me consider sterilization. Except that I probably wouldn't be allowed. Maybe I'll just punch someone instead.
persephoneflame - but, wow. Just... wow.With a side of OMG WTF BBQ.
New federal guidelines ask all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon.
Words fail me. I just - I cannot fathom how this is considered acceptable. I mean, I understand the desire to decrease the infant mortality rate. But you do not do it by acting like the possibility that a woman might, one of these days, get pregnant is more important than her preferences and intentions are - regardless of whether she is sexually active, lesbian, or celibate; regardless of whether or not she is actively trying to avoid getting pregnant.
I am willing to accept that there is some room to argue the well-being of an unborn child over the preferences of the mother - to a point - but when you start acting like potential children not even conceived are more important than a woman's free will and control over her own life, that is going way too far. The message here may be well-meant, but it still reads "the most important thing about you is your ability to bear children." And alongside that message is the one
persephoneflame stated more clearly than I can, involving blaming women for the infant mortality rate instead of looking at other factors of the damn healthcare system.I am not a baby factory. I have no intentions of having children; I am not maternal. I am damn well celibate, and while it is distantly possible that God's gift to women might appear out of nowhere one of these days and sweep me off my feet and into a torrid affair, the most likely chance of me getting pregnant at this point in my life would be if I were raped - which I also go out of my way to avoid, thanks - and if that were to happen, I would have bigger goddamn problems.
I am fucking well not pre-pregnant.
Damn, but this is the angriest I have been in a while now. Attitudes like this make me consider sterilization. Except that I probably wouldn't be allowed. Maybe I'll just punch someone instead.
(no subject)
May. 11th, 2006 11:08 amTwo questions for the day:
1) WTF is with today and people who are fundamentally incapable of grasping the concept of a monthly billing cycle? If you get a statement in the beginning of April that shows an amount due even though you thought you paid your account in full at the end of March, the time to ask "hey, what's with this remaining amount" is not a week after that statement's due date. And if you are dumb enough to wait until after your statement showed the amount was due to ask about it, you should not be surprised when we tell you that no, we cannot simply roll that amount due onto your next due date so that you will not be considered past due or receive any late fees or interest charges. People like this make me regret being able to waive late fees and interest charges.
Similarly, if you receive a statement in March showing that you have an amount due in April, and you do not make a payment, and then you receive another statement showing a) no payment received and b) a new payment due with a new due date, that does not mean that the previous amount is not now past due and that you should not receive a late fee so long as you make your payment by the new due date. This is not how it works.
RAARGH.
2) On a lesser note, who told the Gundam SEED fandom that "what if Murrue was pregnant before Jachin Due?" was a good and interesting plotline? Stop it.
That is all.
1) WTF is with today and people who are fundamentally incapable of grasping the concept of a monthly billing cycle? If you get a statement in the beginning of April that shows an amount due even though you thought you paid your account in full at the end of March, the time to ask "hey, what's with this remaining amount" is not a week after that statement's due date. And if you are dumb enough to wait until after your statement showed the amount was due to ask about it, you should not be surprised when we tell you that no, we cannot simply roll that amount due onto your next due date so that you will not be considered past due or receive any late fees or interest charges. People like this make me regret being able to waive late fees and interest charges.
Similarly, if you receive a statement in March showing that you have an amount due in April, and you do not make a payment, and then you receive another statement showing a) no payment received and b) a new payment due with a new due date, that does not mean that the previous amount is not now past due and that you should not receive a late fee so long as you make your payment by the new due date. This is not how it works.
RAARGH.
2) On a lesser note, who told the Gundam SEED fandom that "what if Murrue was pregnant before Jachin Due?" was a good and interesting plotline? Stop it.
That is all.
