graculus

Today's post is on the subject of actors I cannot stand. Yes, those folks whose involvement in a project makes me actively run in the opposite direction no matter how much the whole project might otherwise push my buttons like a rat in a Skinner box.

Having talked a little with someone (I think it may have been

xandutch but I would not swear to it...) about this at

connotations, I am now officially calling it The Scott Caan Effect. For me where UK-only shows are concerned it can also be the Keeley Hawes Effect as she also has the same impact on me and prevented me from watching more than about five minutes of Ashes To Ashes (though some might say that was a blessed relief!).

Yes, this particular psychological effect is powerful and strikes without warning. Just when you're thinking you might get into a ridiculous remake of a 1960's show, despite how much folks have told you that you ought and the autonomic response that provokes, the Effect strikes and you're gagging and reaching for the remote. It may be even stronger, to the point where mere photos of the cast make you vomit a little in your mouth because of the insane shortness and the bizarre hair.

Of course, for others the Scott Caan Effect is merely the stuff of legend and there will be pointing and mocking, however I suspect that each one of us has a 'Scott Caan' to whom we instinctively react this way, otherwise we're just in denial. So, good flist, if it's not the eponymous short-arse himself (and I'm not at all bitter that the man in question apparently beat out Michael Shanks for the role mostly on the basis of his surname rather than his acting ability...), who is your Scott Caan?

Current Mood: bitchy

Good news at work, of a kind - my boss has successfully argued I can have another body on a 12 month contract, starting whenever we can appoint. The downside of this is that the subset of:
> people who are qualified to do the job
> people who can do the job
> people who I could bear managing
> people who want a 12 month contract rather than a permanent one
means that I'm looking at a very small pool of potentiality right there...

In other news, just about recovered from the week after my week off. Yes, it takes that much to catch up with the things that haven't been done or the things that have been done in a way I'm not happy with, particularly when I spent most of last week feeling like someone had tried to stuff a pillow inside my head without removing my brain first. This effectively squeezed my brain into submission at times.

In other other news, I am officially in love with Suits though I wish I could find folks who write it well. I've pretty much read everything over 1,000 words on AO3 and various communities and haven't been overly impressed, but I guess that says more about the quality of the interactions in the original? Cannot wait to see how they resolve the season 1 cliffhanger!

Also, there remains much love for Fringe in chez Graculus and I also have the first few of a couple of new(ish) shows to try out: Homeland (because I love Damian Lewis) and Person of Interest.

Yes, I am prevaricating and haven't written anything, how did you guess? Can't quite summon up sufficient plot so far for Nano though my main characters are developing quite nicely. ;)

Also I now have a Tumblr account, because it's shiny and another really good source of prevarication...

So, a couple of weeks ago I finally succumbed to the lure of gadgetry and bought a Kindle. The decision was helped immensely by the fact that AO3 provides Kindle-ready downloads of fic (*shakes fist*) and that a lovely piece of software called Calibre enables me to buy DRM-free stuff (or indeed acquire stuff in pretty much any format going) and then convert it to read on the Gadget-Of-Doom.

I've already read a couple of things which far surpass much of what I've previously paid for and am starting to wonder where the line blurs between stuff that should be on

recs_by_grac (and subsequently the recs page on my website) and my book blog. Fannish stuff is pretty clear, but original fiction? How about stuff I've picked up as ebooks but would happily pay cash money for a paperback copy if there was some way of getting hold of it this side of the Atlantic that didn't involve selling a kidney?

Other than that, I've pretty much been bone idle the past few weeks. This year I'd very much like to finish the heaps of stuff that remains uncompleted on my hard drive but reading is so much easier than writing!

I recently realised that my recs journal was hideously out of date (it'd been two and a half years since I last updated it, so that says something about my idea of 'hiatus') and since I am the God-Empress of Prevarication I just spent all afternoon rejigging it.

That means checking every single link, pulling the stuff I couldn't find alternates for and relinking the stuff I could. And then remaking the code so I can start reccing new fandoms I've been smitten by since I last updated (in this case, that means mostly a variety of Sherlocks and White Collar).

Anything, apparently to stop me having to actually write something. What I really need is a USB cable straight from my brain to the computer because that would be so much easier and the stories in my head are all in Technicolor! :P

First off, am very entertained by the current re-run of Colditz, though I can't help being amused by the fact that one of the character's names is Dick Player - sounds like a bad porn actor name.

Secondly, it may be the case that the new version of Hawaii 5-0 is the gayest show ever to hit television but I'm just not feeling the love. Possibly because ( Cut for relatively controversial opinions )

Thirdly, been watching Haven and it's okay/entertaining enough but yet another potential fandom goes by the wayside. Oh well.

Fourthly, potential remake of Wild Wild West? The horror! The horror! This cannot end well. :(

Current Mood: blah

This is kind of a generic post about things that I'm currently enjoying (YMMV):

An unexpected crossover love -

gaedhal is currently writing 'A Study in Lavender', which is a Queer as Folk US/Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie style) WIP based in modern-day England and California. It's pretty awesome and starts here.

Meanwhile, for those of the more gen persuasion, Cofax has been writing a fantastic series set in Narnia which answers the question of just how it gets to be a proper functioning kingdom with four children in charge after the fall of Jadis. You can find part 1 of 'Carpetbaggers' here.

For

phantomas in particular, but also for anyone else who likes the Nero Wolfe series of books - here's the stuff from Parhelion, which I was talking about at

connotations, at their own site (also home to some excellent original slash fic) and on AO3.

Over on Circlet, Cecilia Tan is posting a serialised story 'The Prince's Boy' (currently up to part 65) on a weekly basis - part 1 is here. Please note, for those of a sensitive disposition, this is gay fiction with a lot of sex of varying kinds.

2D Goggles, the thrilling adventures of Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace. Together they fight crime! :P

Hyperbole and a Half, original home of 'Clean All the Things!'

Possibly more to come if I think of anything else, but that's surely enough to be going on with?

E.T.A. I knew there was something else! In TV news, for those fans of Anthony Starke (*waves to

siluria*) E4 is airing Make It or Break It from ep1 this afternoon at 4pm. And FX is going to be airing The Walking Dead from Sunday 7th November.

Current Mood: cold

How did it get to be almost April already? Hmmm...

Why is it the only time senior managers use the phrase "we'll have to have a look at your workload", it's because they want you to do something for them? ;)

In other news, I have a dental abcess (well, a return for the one I had in 2007, really) for which I am on the Biggest Antibiotics Ever. Alas, my dentist tells me there's root canal work in my future, though he says I can leave it till the summer. At least this time around it hasn't been painful, just annoying, and the day when it was a little painful and I could have used it to skip work, I had too much to do. Pffft. Though I shouldn't complain too much as today I am 'working at home'. *cough*

On the positive side, my holiday is all booked, flights and hotels and everything! Probably a good thing due to the things managers are trying to get me to do. It's official, I'm off to Arizona and then MW this time around - sadly Newfoundland will have to wait till next year, when I can go after MW and things will be open!

Alas, not so positively, my hopes of producing something for a MW-bound zine floundered mid-month. Still looking for that device which will allow me to stick a USB cable between my brain and the laptop.

Current Mood: blah

I usually have a couple of weeks off work in May/June, to coincide with my annual trip to MediaWest - this year is no different, though work commitments mean holiday first, con after.

My dilemma? I don't know what to do/where to go. The main options at the moment are Arizona/New Mexico or Newfoundland - I've visited a lot of cities and frankly, once you've seen one museum you've pretty much seen them all. Don't mind that for a couple of days but after that it starts to pall.

The main problem with Newfoundland appears to be that some of the things I would want to visit may well be closed because the holiday season hasn't started yet (L'Anse aux Meadows being the prime one on that list). The main problem with Arizona/New Mexico is multiple stops to fly to Las Vegas, which looks like being the best starting point despite the fact I would probably never want to go there for any other reason than to leave it behind in my rearview mirror. ;)

So, wise friendslist, what would you do? (Alternative primarily non-city suggestions also considered!)

Current Mood: curious

Hey, that white stuff has been falling from the sky again...

In other news, one of the channels over here has been re-running John Adams, with which I was decidedly impressed - I have to admit that it's not a period of history I know well, as my knowledge of the subject tends to go east from Europe rather than west. I somehow managed to miss it first time around but now I have Sky+ there's no excuse. That wonderful device also lets me catch The Colbert Report like clockwork and is due to assist with re-watching Reilly, Ace of Spies from tomorrow. ;)

Where US shows are concerned, I'm very much enjoying both Lie to Me (Tim Roth ftw!) and Trust Me so far, even though my brain keeps wanting to confuse the two together - new shows should not have such similar names. I can't talk about a couple of other shows, because I'm behind so I'm avoiding spoilers. However, Big Bang Theory continues to be awesomesauce, even if we're rapidly approaching end of season! :(

Current Mood: blah

I've got a story to finish before next Friday for the Down the Chimney challenge on

muncle so of course I've been ~~toiling away at it~~ scrubbing the kitchen floor. Which has needed scrubbing for a couple of weeks but somehow has become much more important in the greater scheme of things this weekend. ;)

Current Mood: busy

The past couple of days, I seem to have been on the right sleep pattern to remember what I've dreamed about, which doesn't happen all too often. Friday night's dream was about canoes, so my subconscious was clearly working over the book I'd been reading before I went to sleep, since that involved a canoe race - no racing for me, though, since I was apparently carrying this bright red kayak through various buildings in search of... something.

Last night's was much less obviously prompted, since the first dream I had was that I'd woken up and gone downstairs (realistically enough that when I did wake up I wasn't sure if I had actually done it) and something very odd was going on with my video recorder, in that it had suddenly developed all these lights and buttons I had no idea about.

The second dream featured some kind of sword fight, in which there was one sword that someone should have been using and one that they shouldn't and it all made perfect dream-logic but no sense whatsoever in the real world. I blame that one on a combination of Heroes (why do my fingers always type 'herpes' before they get it right?) and stumbling across the hideously bad Prince Valiant on telly the other afternoon and mocking the fight scenes.

In other news, the sun was shining and the sky was blue when I got up this morning, so now of course it's absolutely pissing down. And I should be writing, so I'm going to go and make coffee then get to it...

I have just spent a lovely 3 hours checking all the links on my recs pages so they now should all work - off to watch Dr Who! :)

E.T.A. Help me, friendslist, you're my only hope! Missing links for the following, if anyone can assist:

~~Black and White by Cruise Director (LA Confidential)~~
~~A Slender Knowing by Fabula Rasa (Master and Commander)~~
~~Down East by Miss Pamela (Due South)~~
~~Various stories by Elanor Isolda, though I expect I know these are gone for good (Harry Potter, Snape/Harry)~~
Various stories by Toft (Harry Potter, 2 x Snape/Harry and 1x Snape/Lupin)
Elusive by Demented Siren (Harry Potter, Snape/Sirius Black)
~~Dark Wizards Anonymous by thesnapelyone (Harry Potter, Snape/Lupin)~~
~~Truth by Ellid (Harry Potter, Remus Lupin/Percy Weasley)~~

Clearly if anyone has missed their calling as a detective, it's

msmanna... ;)

Current Mood: blah

What I've read since my last post with a list of what books I've read since the post before that with a list. Or something. ;)

Lirael by Garth Nix (excellent, recommended)
Blood Pact by Tanya Huff (good, recommended)
Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik (back in her stride after disappointing 3rd book, recommended)
Snake Agent by Liz Williams (excellent and inventive, recommended)
Company of Liars by Karen Maitland (wtf? avoid)
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch (excellent, recommended)
Touch of Evil by CT Adams and Cathy Clamp (sucks like a hoover)
Lord of the Isles by David Drake (you, sir, are no George RR Martin)
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (good, recommended)
Farthing by Jo Walton (excellent, recommended)
Reiffen's Choice by SC Butler (excellent, recommended)
Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest (good, recommended)
On the Other Hand, Death by Richard Stevenson (very different from the movie, recommended)

I'm currently reading Ice Blues by Richard Stevenson, which will be book 127 since January 2007, not counting slash etc.

E.T.A. A kind(?) person has created

graculus_vox in case anyone other than them and myself is interested in following my book mitherings here on LJ... ;)

Current Mood: cheerful

Maple dip
Apple fritter
Chocolate glaze
Toffee glaze
Banana-nut muffin x 2
Walnut crunch x 2
Coconut cream
Oatcake
White chocolate macadamia cookie
Honey dip
Sour cream plain
Chocolate danish
Honey cruller x 2
Wholegrain raspberry muffin
Sour cream glazed
Everything bagel and butter
12 grain bagel and cream cheese x 5
Peanut butter cookie x 2
Lemon cranberry muffin
Breakfast sandwich (just egg and cheese) x 2
Medium coffee x approx 20
Assorted Timbits of various kinds

All I can say is, I did go other places and eat other things while I was away, honest! :P

Current Mood: bored

This is partly

klo_the_hobbit's fault...

Current Mood: amused

First off, can I just say how much I loathe and abhor the fact that my ISP have got into bed with both Yahell and Norton and the fact that when my firewall started playing up, I forgot the bad experience I had last time around with the 'free' Norton firewall thingy from my ISP and downloaded it anyway? And then it did the same thing that drove me crazy last time around, creating about a zillion pop-up windows whenever I tried to send email before deciding that actually it wouldn't allow my mail program to contact my ISP at all. *headdesk* I guess that's the most secure computer set-up going, an internet-ready computer that isn't allowed to communicate with the internet...

In better news, I'm enjoying the fact I have... *counts*... just 8 days left at work before my holiday. Why yes, I am that annoying person! :) And after the world's most pointless meeting this afternoon, I'm more than ready. I'm pretty much all set as well, since everything is organised (including packing the boys off to the ferret Hilton, as usual).

When I get back from MW (of which more anon), I'm expecting details of my impending graduation in July to be waiting for me. For which event my mother is coming to visit. Yes, a phrase that strikes fear into the hearts of anyone with a lick of sense... which means most of June is going to be spent in frantic cleaning and tidying efforts before the big day. I felt like I had to go through with it, since my not finishing my first degree meant I never got to do the whole silly hat and robes thing, and I knew she'd like it. Which she confirmed within a split second of me mentioning it, though at least she's insisting on staying at a hotel because she's a terrible insomniac and won't feel guilty about having a cup of tea at 3am that way. Or at least that's her story and I'm not arguing with it.

Looking forward to MW immensely, as usual; I also got a pleasant surprise over the weekend when I discovered I've picked up another nomination for a FanQ. Hello to all the peeps who're also making the trek to exotic Lansing in much less time than we care to think about! ;) Bugger, that means it's time to get cracking on the door decoration...

Current Mood: mischievous

Rejoice with me, for the first complete draft of the SG-1 novel is done, only three weeks late and after much prevarication and the universe conspiring against me to make April by far the cruellest month in more ways than one.

It finally totalled out at just over 84,500 words so I'm pretty pleased with it, since this is quite a bit longer than anything else I've written on my own in the past (the nearest competition is Reciprocity Affair, which is just over 40,000 words). Realistically, however, I know I may have missed the boat where this coming out in print at MW is concerned, particularly since I'm off to Boston on the 16th of next month. *sighs*

The good news is that now I can actually start reading some of the

snarry_games stories, which I'd had to filter out because they were all looking really good and they're all apparently ~~delightfully~~ hideously long and involved and I knew I was already prevaricating too much without that assistance. And stop avoiding people (and their pointy sticks) on the intarwebs. *looks meaningfully at

obelix*

Current Mood: pleased

Well, the UNCLE fic is done and sent off, but the SG-1 novel drags on... here's where we're at so far, with line edits done on everything I'd written except the 10-page epilogue and still some bits to finish. And I might have to revise my target again:

81,490 / 85,000
(95.9%)

And in other news, my horse came second in the Grand National, so I've won something from the office sweepstake. I think it was £10, since first prize was £25, but it could easily be £5. Still, sweet victory was almost mine! :P

Current Mood: mellow

Gakked from

bethbethbeth:

-Go to IMDB.com and look up 10 TV shows you like(d).
-Post three official IMDB "Plot Keywords" for these 10 picks.
-Have your friends guess the show names.

1. ~~Superhero / Memory Loss / Save The World~~ Heroes by

obelix
2. ~~James Bond Spoof / Spying / Duo~~ The Wild Wild West by

atdelphi
3. ~~Film Industry / Los Angeles California / Insult~~ Entourage by

obelix
4. ~~Cunning Plan / Role Reversal / 1790s~~ Blackadder the Third by

cara_chapel
5. ~~Male Nudity / Play Within Film / Insanity~~ Slings and Arrows by

sg1scribe
6. ~~Female Lead / Vampire / Private Investigator~~ Blood Ties by

obelix
7. ~~Serial Killer / Vigilantism / Forensic~~ Dexter by

obelix
8. ~~Betrayal / Neo Noir / Woman Private Detective~~ Veronica Mars by

atdelphi
9. ~~Inanimate Object / Supernatural~~ Wonderfalls by

atdelphi
10. ~~Workplace / Sitcom / Television~~ Sports Night by

obelix

Not sure how difficult this is for anyone who knows my taste in television... ;) E.T.A. And apologies to

cedara for changing 5. after I'd already posted. Oops!

Current Mood: amused

Ever wondered what to do about that inbox that is straining at the edges? ;)

In other news, this is where we're at with the novel, with 75,000 words as a rough target (oh, and for yesterday's poll folks, I figured out a workaround that doesn't break canon):