Our Lady Of Solitude

Every time a truly remarkable person dies, the world is a little poorer for it.

Irena Sendler died today. She was 98. A long, and, hopefully, post-war happy life. No one deserved it more.

She had saved some 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazi Holocaust by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, some of them in baskets. She was arrested and tortured but refused to give up her accomplices. And after she escaped, she changed her name and continued her work.

When honored as a hero, she responded with: "Every child saved with my help and the help of all the wonderful secret messengers, who today are no longer living, is the justification of my existence on this earth, and not a title to glory."

May she rest in true peace. As a born Jew, and an agnostic at best, I don't know if there is a heaven. But at times like these, I sure hope there something. Because there has to be a place where people like that get their due.

Source

I can't remember who said this, but it struck a chord: there are so many signs of apocalyps lately, it might actually fool us and not come at all.

Seriously, long-dead movie stars make sex tapes and children write memoirs... I'm scared!

( • A New York businessman has bought a 15-minute film of Marilyn Monroe engaging in oral sex for $1.5 million. )

( • 15-year-old Miley Cyrus has signed a deal to write her memoirs. )
( • Hands off Annie Leibovitz! )


( • On a much funnier note, the next Undisclosed location just might be a beet farm in Pennsylvania! )




• Finally, I need people's opinion:

What do you think of the phrase "Your Time. Your Thoughts. Your TV"? Too pretentious? Too long? Too something? Just right? Help is appreciated! :)

Moonlight is coming back tonight. Love it or hate it or be indifferent to it, the show is definitely causing some buzz, and the boys have been visible, un-vampire like in bright day- and spot-light.

While it’s still very much on the bubble, I feel at peace with the show no matter what happens, and I am grateful to it for giving JD the exposure he’s too damn shy to seek himself. And for giving him, it looks like, finally!, a working atmosphere where he is having fun and feeling hell of a lot happier.

A lot of interviews, articles, videos, photos, etc. have cropped up in the past week. Due to the New York City Comic Con and the Paley Center Moonlight Panel taking place one after another. For Jason fan, it’s a good time!

( Follow the cut to the goodies: )



*****

In conclusion, for some AMAZING close-ups, go to the Moonlightline forum:

The person who took the photos (Missy?) did a wonderful job and deserves credit!
Not stealing or using for anything, just putting this in as a preview:




forums.moonlightline.com

*****

Whatever happens to the show, Jason has made a real impression and gained some amazing new fans (who had never even seen him in VM prior to this). And THAT is the real positive outcome of the year that followed the cancellation of VM. As a huge fan, I am very glad for him.

Made these completely on the post-The Office, "Dinner Party" high. I adore this show and thank goodness it found me! :)

Title: Insisting on Love (Part 2a/?)
Author: hiddeneloise
Pairings: Logan/Veronica
Word Count: 8,046
Rating: This part R. Eventually NC-17
Warning: Adult language.
Spoilers: Everything that aired.
Summary: Picks up a few weeks after the events of the last episode of the show. The roller-coaster that is Logan and Veronica. Sometime you need to get off the ride and stop spinning in order to appreciate the high.
Disclaimer: I don’t own them. I just love them. Despite everything.
A/N: There’s no way for me to convey how sorry I am for keeping people waiting this long for the update. There were reasons, but I won’t bore anyone by reciting them and simply promise to never have such a gap between updates again. I appreciate each and every comment and I am deeply grateful to everyone who stuck with this.
A/N2: My poor betas!, arabian and hokeysmoke, who survived this chapter, should really be canonized. Or knighted. Or something equally significant should be done for them. If only I had the power! Alas, my undying gratitude would have to suffice.


Part 2a
Part 2b

Part 1

I've been sick for a week. Wiped, achy, miserable. And then I looked at my FList this morning, and, apparently, I've been tagged by sweetumms33, and the_spin, and midnight_27, lama_not_llama, and skyroom80 for the "you make my day" award.

And just like that, I'm better! First of, thank you, guys! You make my days on the regular basis, and no joke. :) Second, I know I'm supposed to tag 10 people on my FList to give them the day-making award in turn. But here's the thing: my list is not at all extensive and pretty much everyone on it deserves kudos and mentions for picking me up, making me laugh, intriguing me, making me think, entertaining me, and generally getting me through some pretty depressing days this past year alone. So, instead of just listing everyone, or, worse, closing my eyes and stabbing at names randomly, I am giving this award to my entire list:




Thank you!

Totally random:

1. Copied from a 1,000 FList entries. :)

Second time's the charm! Yeah, I drew that dude from "Heroes" the first time I played. Eeeeeek! Nooooooo! Not if he was the last dude in the Universe. Not even in a fictional scenario. And I don't even know which of my answers could have possibly led to that conclusion. But, hey, who cares! The second time's jackpot! :)



( Sigh )

( 2. Friend Appreciation )

( 3. SAG Awards )

( 4. A promissory note )

5. Yep, still at it (keeps me sane for some reason):



Seriously, it takes no time at all, now that I've got the templates. And it's a good break activity. :)

That's all, folks. :)

Or finishing that commissioned painting. Or getting the second chapter of my fic ready to send to the betas. Or ... working.

So, naturally, I'm playing.

My birthday is this week and all I suddenly want is "The Office" Desk Calendar. Yep, the one that's sold out everywhere. Why "The Office" you may ask? Well, because after seeing it on and off for a few seasons (and enjoying it in a quiet way), I am suddenly and inexplicably in love! Just like that. I got the DVDs for holidays and I can't stop watching them...

Ahem. So, no calendar. And it occurred to me that I am a friggin' graphic designer. And ... I should be working. But instead I did a week's worth of calendar pages. I don't know if or for how long I can keep it up, but it's my birthday week and I can play if I want to! :)




( Here be the rest of the week: )

Okay, now I can work.... Hmm, what else can I amuse myself with?

Title: Insisting on Love (Part 1/?)
Author: hiddeneloise
Pairings: Logan/Veronica
Word Count: 9914
Rating: This part R. Eventually NC-17
Warning: Adult language.
Spoilers: Everything that aired.
Summary: Picks up a few weeks after the events of the last episode of the show. The roller-coaster that is Logan and Veronica. Sometimes you need to get off the ride and stop spinning in order to appreciate the high.
Disclaimer: I don’t own them. I just love them. Despite everything.
A/N: My excellent, patient, long-suffering beta, arabian deserves a cookie. Or a Logan under her tree this year. But since I can’t perform miracles, cookie it is.
A/N2: Yep, it’s shaping up to be Epic. Very sorry! It’s just that it lived in my brain for so long I was considering charging rent.

Yeah, it's only Part 1. Stop looking at me like that! :)

'Tis the season ... for the Golden Boobs, sorry, Golden Globes, or whatever. The nominations came out yesterday, and I think Nikki Finke (she of deadlinehollywooddaily.com/) put it best:

Once again, I predict that whoever lobbied the so-called Hollywood Foreign Press Association the hardest will win. Which is why the Globes are never an accurate forecast of Oscar nominations. And, while I'm on the subject, be aware that the motley crew who belong to the scandal-riddled HFPA won't grant membership to the real international journalists who work for the prestige newspapers across the world. Which is why I, for one, refuse to hype the HFPA's b.s. every year and will never offer you an analysis of the nominations or wins. Trust me, they're as meaningless as the crappy organization that gives them out.

Not that it's news of any kind. All awards are meaningless and exactly for the same reason. It's who yells the loudest into someone's deaf ear at any given period.

And speaking of the season, it's the end of the year and all sorts of "Big in 2007" or "The Best Of" lists are coming out. This year, as far as pop culture and entertainment goes (with very few exceptions) was a wash. And I find myself caring not at all.

I think of that great Dr. Cox rant (which sadly loses the spark of John C. McGinley's wonderful delivery when put in print): "I suppose I could riff a list of things that I care as little about as our last week together. Lemme see, uhh... Low-carb diets. Michael Moore. The Republican National Convention. Kabbalah and all Kabbalah-related products. Hi-def TV, the Bush daughters, wireless hot spots, 'The O.C.', the U.N., recycling, getting Punk'd, Danny Gans, the Latin Grammys, the real Grammys. Jeff, that Wiggle who sleeps too darn much! The Yankees payroll, all the red states, all the blue states, every hybrid car, every talk show host! Everything on the planet, everything in the solar system, everything everything everything everything everything everything - ever - everything that exists - past, present and future, in all discovered and undiscovered dimensions. Oh! And Hugh Jackman."

So, in the spirit of Dr. Cox -- a true role model if there ever was one! -- ( here's my list )

I could go on, but there isn't enough bandwidth. Happy Holidays! :)

Yes, I know he isn’t perfect. But I don’t care. Also, this is like a year old, and I’ve heard about it, but I just stumbled over this full list and it made my day. My tiring, difficult, sleep-deprived, headache-inducing, grumbley day. Humor me.

Basically, last year, on Whedonesque, Joss made a list of his Top 25 favorite TV characters. In response to James Gunn’s ditto. Don’t know James Gunn, don’t give a hoot, just want to giggle over Whedon’s list:

( Read more... )

Thank you for the laugh, and for some great choices!

Saw this in fedek06 journal. Thought I deserved something nice this year. Hoped Santa might see it that way, too.

Dear Santa... Dear Santa, This year I've been busy! In April I gave lady_eonen a Dutch Oven (-10 points). Last Saturday liliana_ and I donated clothes to the needy (11 points). In March I put gum in shiny4love's hair (-12 points). Last Monday I helped arabian across the street (6 points). In July I had a shoot-out with rival gang lords on the 5 near LA (-76 points). Overall, I've been naughty (-81 points). For Christmas I deserve a lump of coal! Sincerely, hiddeneloise

Write your letter to Santa! Enter your LJ username:

Yeah, fat chance! Now, what does one do with a lump of coal exactly? Could it be made decorative?

I don't often do something like this (in fact, hardly ever), but it seems important to me. And it's an easy thing to do, simply click on a download button, once a day, for a small, 3kb, virus-free file. The result, however, could save someone's life. Certainly improve its quality. I can't think of a single reason not to do this if we possibly can.



( Project Erin )

To quote leucocrystal: She's ill and is losing hope on her worst days. Here's how I avoid forgetting to download every day: make ProjectErin.com your home page! That way, every time you open your browser, you just click and you're done for that day! Please people, keep downloading!

Or, as I like to call them, “The Academy of Bloated and Hopelessly Tunnel-Visioned Geriatrics" Awards.

Didn't watch it, but the results are in. Yawn.

( 1. The “Goodbye, It’s Been Swell” Award )

( 2. The “They Have Alec Baldwin and That’s Funny” Award )

( 3. The “We Are Senile and Enjoy Inexplicable Redundancy” Award )

( 4. The “Connie Britton is Too Obscure to Nominate” Award )

( 5. The “Thank God It’s Not That Monk Guy Again!” Award )

( 6. The “Lauren Graham Who?” Award )

( 7. The “It’s Too Many Of You Out There and We Can Barely Remember The Few Show’s Titles As It Is” Award )

( 8. The “What’s That ‘Subtlety’ Thing You Speak Of?” Award )

( 9. The “Obligatory Old Guard but Thanks for Not Making It Shatner Again” Award )

( 10. “We Love Neurotic But Don’t Get Deadpan” Award )

There were other amusements. “The Office” won the best writing, but not the best comedy. “Battlestar Galactica” and “Lost” were nominated for the best writing but not for drama series. Because writing is completely unimportant, people! Snort. And I could go on, but I won’t.

All in all, it was the usual “Who Gives A Flying Kite? We’re Here to Judge Fashion!” annual event. So glad I missed it!

And speaking of being glad to miss something, was that Kristen Bell wrapped in a hospital sheet, sitting in the front row with Masi Oka and blocking the actual cast of “Heroes”? Because that was comedy gold!

( It's Eau de Interloper You're Smelling, Bitch! )

Urgh. I need a drink.

Except, possibly, due to the lack of sleep.

( They Who Should Not Have Been Named. )

Yeah, I know. Mischief accomplished, off to do something constructive.

So, yeah, I’m writing a VM fanfic. Don’t laugh! And when I do I try to stay close to canon. What can I say, I’m a masochist. In the course of writing I came to that pesky FBI Internship Veronica supposedly got. I planned to stifle my disbelief (forget suspending it, in VM case it has to be beaten down with butch boots and grounded into dust in order to swallow what Rob Thomas is selling). I figured I might as well go to a web-site and read what such an internship would entail.

( Read more... )

Sigh. I’m getting to the point, honestly. The advice I need is whether I should rework my plot (or what passes for plot in my story) to ignore this travesty and make like Veronica never heard of this Internship? Or should I treat reality the same way RT does and just pretend the Universe obeys my misconceptions? Help!

So I must be in a wrong fandom. Or simply living under a rock. Or both. There's a big bad brewing with the LJ, and I have yet to figure out why. But enough of my LJ friends spoke up for me to peek cautiously into the cattle, and ... oy.

I can't add anything more substantial to what leucocrystal has already said here. Except to mention that, as a recovering Soviet, I have a huge problem with censorship. It makes me uncomfortable. I especially take issue with the idea that sweeping measures across the board are a good way to rid it of some, admittedly, real offenders. Words "baby" and "bathwater" come to mind.

Lifted the below from juls_chuls. Thank you for the funny!(And the scary!) :)



I call a foul! As much as I would love to discover fresh air, real life, and true love (in that order? why?), I contest the notion that it's the LJ that keeps me from such discoveries! LOL.

And, oh, I can't believe that sweet earth2mars would do such a thing! Let alone for some lame-ass spoilers about Luke's father! I mean, who doesn't know who Luke's father is! And who still cares? LOL.

( And since I'm posting anyway, might as well share some random thoughts and news circulating in my brain for a while now. )

RIP HP.

So, yeah, book 7.

Wasn't going to post about it. Because there are only so many words to describe "Meh." Also, because it's hardly worth the effort required to shout "HERE BE SPOILERS!!!!" to those threatening carnage.

And yet, here I go. What can I say? I need to amuse myself and -- if she can
stomach the (very few) details -- my poor dear lady_eonen, who shares my clearly unpopular feelings, but hasn't yet reached the stage of Mocking Zen.

One disclaimer: I do realize that there was no way J. K. Rowling could have not disappointed at least a part of her readership. The build-up took years. The allegiances, preferences, entrenchment and expectations were all firmly set. And generally speaking, in a group this enormous and this
diverse, it's not surprising to see a fan puking up disgust in a corner while another one jumps up and down alongside going "It's from happiness, right? You're sick on sheer joy, aren't you?!"

Whatever I think of her as a writer (I won’t go there), I do give her credit for the obvious: she created a world a lot of us at least liked to visit from time to time. Yes, she quilted most of it out of snippets of various sources. She knows her classics and her archetypes. And she can juggle with the best of them. It’s not uncommon in literature, and when done well, it's a tremendous work and a miracle to behold. Tolkien constructed his out of other -- Norse in particular -- mythologies. Though nowhere near Tolkien's caliber, JKR nonetheless did a very good job creating the HP Universe.

Too bad for those of us who, in the end, found ourselves looking for the next Hogwarts Express the hell out of there. More thoughts and pics under the cut below.

( I saw the wizard. And his magic was lost. )

arabian – the most tireless and dedicated Chairwoman of the Boards I know – has set this up and is inviting any and all JD fans to join.

She’s posted all the JD-"Moonlight" articles she could find and set up a few threads. After all, there should be a fun JD board. There just should! :) So, take a moment and follow the yellow brick link:

A-Dohring Crowd
arabian

I know, I know, it has been posted numerous times today by everyone on my (and a few others') fList, but ... squeeee! The show may not be anything good or lasting (who can tell at this point?), but this is not detracting from the fact that Jason was "pulled" into this by WBTV and Silver Pictures. Which means he is on their radar. That's a great thing to know. :) And whatever this project and this part may turn out to be, here's to seeing Jason Dohring again and much sooner than I dared to hope!

Hollywood Reporter

"Veronica Mars" alum Jason Dohring is reuniting with the show's producers, Warner Bros. TV and Silver Pictures, with a co-starring role on "Moonlight," their new series for CBS. The drama centers on a private investigator (Alex O'Loughlin) who is a vampire.

Dohring will play ancient vampire Josef. He replaces 60-year-old Rade Serbedzija, who played the part in the pilot presentation before the character was reconceptualized as a young, mischievous hedge-fund trader.

Dohring, who played Veronica Mars' (Kristen Bell) on-and-off boyfriend Logan on the critically praised CW drama, is the second new addition to "Moonlight" cast, along with recently cast Sophia Myles.



And a bonus yeay! Sophia Myles is great! Like so many British actors, she shines. So much better than Shannon Lucio (the one she's replacing). :)