Party pooper LJ!
Oct. 7th, 2012 12:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wiseheartWell, folks, it seems that LJ has decided to crash our birthday party - the original post is no longer visible. But I still have most of the comments in my inbox, and will re-post the original entry and list the available comments with the simple mentioning of the names, if it's all right with you. If not, tell me, and I'll delete yours.
We won't allow LJ to crash our party!
Original post
Hi folks! *waves*
Time is flying by, isn't it? It's that time of a year again - I'm getting older. In this case, I'm turning 56 on October 9, which means I'd have been retired for a year already, back under the old regime. Women could retire at the age of 55 back then. So I've decided to ignore all that fantastic headway we've supposedly made towards democracy in the last two decades and have considered myself retired for the last year, blithley overlooking the fact that I'll have to work another 6 or 7 or only God knows how many years.
So, let's party! Last years virtual birthday party yielded 943 comments on 7 pages, which won't be easy to top, but we're good, aren't we? WE CAN DO IT! WE CAN BREAK THE 1000-COMMENT-BARRIER! So, let's give it a try! In the recent years, it has always been great fun, so let's have fun again!
You're all cordially invited to help yourself to a slice of virtual cake of your choice. If you want to post your favourite recipe in a comment, be my guest. If not, just drop by and say hello.
Cheers!
Note: The party will be closed on October 9, at midnight, sharp.
Join us and have fun! Feel free to start any thread, any topic you want; we can discuss it, mock the general stupidity of life and laugh at it.
Last count was 1328 comments on 6 pages.
NB: Shoud the original party post mysteriously reappear, I'll delete this one.
We won't allow LJ to crash our party!
Original post
Hi folks! *waves*
Time is flying by, isn't it? It's that time of a year again - I'm getting older. In this case, I'm turning 56 on October 9, which means I'd have been retired for a year already, back under the old regime. Women could retire at the age of 55 back then. So I've decided to ignore all that fantastic headway we've supposedly made towards democracy in the last two decades and have considered myself retired for the last year, blithley overlooking the fact that I'll have to work another 6 or 7 or only God knows how many years.
So, let's party! Last years virtual birthday party yielded 943 comments on 7 pages, which won't be easy to top, but we're good, aren't we? WE CAN DO IT! WE CAN BREAK THE 1000-COMMENT-BARRIER! So, let's give it a try! In the recent years, it has always been great fun, so let's have fun again!
You're all cordially invited to help yourself to a slice of virtual cake of your choice. If you want to post your favourite recipe in a comment, be my guest. If not, just drop by and say hello.
Cheers!
Note: The party will be closed on October 9, at midnight, sharp.
Join us and have fun! Feel free to start any thread, any topic you want; we can discuss it, mock the general stupidity of life and laugh at it.
Last count was 1328 comments on 6 pages.
NB: Shoud the original party post mysteriously reappear, I'll delete this one.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 08:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 09:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 08:26 am (UTC)I'm gonna bake some walnut buns with the 6th-term kids tomorrow. Want me
> to bring a few virtual ones?
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 08:27 am (UTC)Yes, please!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 08:32 am (UTC)re posting of the cake recipe
Cake
•3/4 C (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
•2 cups sugar
•4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
•3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
•1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
•1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
•1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1/4 cup cornstarch
•1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
•1 teaspoon baking soda
Topping
•1 cup (1/2 pint) heavy cream, chilled
•3 tablespoons sugar
•1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
•1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter and flour two 8″ round cake pans.
Cream the butter and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, then the sour cream, zests, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed. Mix well. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda. On low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine just until smooth.
Pour the batter evenly into the pans, smooth the tops, and bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then remove to wire racks and let cool to room temperature.
To make the filling for one cake, whip the cream, sugar, and vanilla in a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until firm. Slice one of the cakes in half with a long, sharp knife. Place the bottom slice of the cake on a serving platter, spread with 1/2 the whipped cream and scatter with sliced strawberries.
Cover with the top slice of the cake and spread with the remaining cream. Decorate with strawberries.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 08:44 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 02:52 pm (UTC)Thank you! I'll definitely give this a try in spring, when there are
fresh strawberries. The ones they fly in from Africa or wherever simpy
don't have the right taste.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 08:43 am (UTC)Cheery topic #1 - cause
> We have place in the kitchen cupboard! Yay! No, seriously. Once in a
> year, the city organizes a big clean-up action. Each district marks the
> places where you can dump all the things you no longer need but that are
> too large for the garbage chute or the containers. Like old furniture and
> stuff. After a couple of days, a big pickup with a huge garbage container
> comes, the guys load up everything and take it away.
> By this occasion, we finally took the effort to clean out the kitchen
> cupboard. Several huge pots and bowls that hadn't been used since
> Granny's death (1996) have been dragged out and thrown onto the garbage
> dump. Now we can get the stuff we actually do use on a daily basis
> without throwing half of our household items into the middle of the
> kitchen first.
> It's a wonderful thing, even though the action cost us all afternoon.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:15 pm (UTC)Sounds good. Cupboard space is nice indeed. My impending move is a good
occation for a cleanout of my own when it comes to stuff I don´t use.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:46 pm (UTC)Yay for space and organisation! Hopefully the energy and time spent on it
> now will save time and energy later. :)
> That sounds like a very good system. Here it is complicated and expensive
> if you don't have a car to take things to the tip yourself. When my
> parents visit me I sometimes get them to help take stuff (as they have a
> car).
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:47 pm (UTC)There've been rumours that we'll have to pay for it in the future, but
yeah, it's a good system. I think a big city like ours woudl drown in its
own garbage otherwise.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 08:49 am (UTC)That sounds really useful! Yay for cupboard space! We don't have anything
like that here, though we do have a car so it's easier to take stuff to
the tip ourselves.
My cheery topic -- the new (reconditioned) laptop successfully records
audio files without glitches! I might be able to do some podficcing
without hanging my head in shame. At least when my cold alleviates.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 02:59 pm (UTC)And yay, this was the hundredth reply! I claim a slice of cake :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:10 pm (UTC)Good for you! I once did a few podfics, back in the Stone Age when I
recorded some of my Hungarian Trekfic with the help of an old and
battered tape recorder. It wasn't a big success. *g*
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:12 pm (UTC)I think it's easy to forget how much the technology has improved over the
time I've been in fandom.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:49 pm (UTC)I see it at school every day, too. What happened to blackboard and chalk?
Okay, we still use those, too, but with virtual blackboards and
whiteboards and everything on CD and stuff... I feel hopelessly outdated
sometimes.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:07 pm (UTC)I'm pretty technophobic. I often think I'd like to stick with the
technology available when I was a student (e-mail without spam,
mainframes, command line interface), but I suspect the lack of home
computers and so on would drive me wild. I'm a very slow adopter though.
I hate mobiles and only carry mine when I really have to, and don't
possess any kind of e-reader.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:15 pm (UTC)For a very long time I thought that mobiles were spawned by Sauron. Then
Mum had to go to the hospital, and I ran to buy one, because that was her
link to the rest of the world for 5 weeks, and I was so grateful for the
frigging thing it isn't even funny.
Now, three years later, we both still have a basic Nokia, all that which
can do are actual phone calls - okay, they can send text messages and
take photographs, too, but we hardly ever use them for that - and we only
switch them on when we're out of the house, just in case.
People tend to whine about my mobile being off when I'm at home, and I
then answer innocently: Well, you can always try the landlnie... *g*
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:28 pm (UTC)My hearing is so odd & my voice so quiet, I'm still with the Spawn of
Sauron camp. But indeed, they are good for emergencies, when internet &
landlines are out of reach. Actually I have a 'new' mobile (one of my
brother's) but I've not used it yet.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:38 pm (UTC)Yay for the computer working! Good luck with the podfic! :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:39 pm (UTC)Thank you! Now I just need to get rid of this frog in my throat. Cake is
efficacious against colds, I hear :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:51 pm (UTC)Hot Ribena! We keep a bottle for emergencies up on a high shelf.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 08:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 10:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 01:05 pm (UTC)(Let's just hope that DW is willing to import the comments...)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 01:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 01:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 10:40 am (UTC)Happy early birthday
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:55 pm (UTC)And many, many thanks for helping with the party reconstruction effort, both you and
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:47 pm (UTC)I find that having lots of little things go against you can even get you more down than one big thing. Part of this I think is that it feels like there is a pattern to your life of things going wrong -- it is so easy sometimes to forget the good things when bad things are right on top of you. Another aspect to it is the fact that since they are 'just little things' there is an expectation that you shouldn't let it get to you or complain about it. Sometimes actually being allowed to complain to someone else and having them acknowledge that things are bad for you helps you find the strength and courage to go on. If this is the case for you, please take this as me seeing your problems and hoping you can preserver and get through them to the other side!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 10:47 am (UTC)Is this a new type of collapsing threads on LJ?
to which
Edited because I can't spell...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:49 pm (UTC)I have never seen the "...and 15 more comments... from " variety of collapsing threads before. However, your birthday party is where I see the most comments in collapsing threads on LJ so it is entirely possible that it isn't very new, I just haven't seen it before. Still having threads collapse in two different ways within the first two days is worthy of celebrating, right? :-)
and
There's a new comment interface, which I'm guessing that's a 'feature' of. I avoid it by viewing comments in my style, which doesn't contract them like that. It might be a paid user trick, tho'.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:52 pm (UTC)I hate the new comment interface like the plague but don't know how to
switch it off. I do have a paid account (anonymous gift), but still use
the old S1 layout. Must I switch to S2 to get rid of most of the annoying
"developments"?
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:18 pm (UTC)I suspect you need to switch to one of the S2 styles that is paid-only
and then switch to seeing everything including comments in your personal
style. (I'm using Component, but I think there's at least one other that
works.) However, it is rather slow to load, and that might be more of a
problem with older machines.
I'd love to switch to Dreamwidth, but there are too many people who
mainly post to LJ for it to work. Plus even with a paid Dreamwidth
account you don't get the neat comment notification options that LJ
offers. Sigh.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 10:58 am (UTC)I would recommend the Tiffany Aching books. They are definitely Discworld, but (technically) young adult fiction. Very much my favourites though, with a tough, clever and capable young girl as the central characther (i.e. Tiffany). The first book with her is called The Wee Free Men. My second favourite subset of Discworld books are the Watch books. As you I found the first couple of Discworld books not very good -- I read The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic and while the satire is fine, the characters feel very much like only caricatures with no depth and the story is thin too. After that I for some reason still gave Terry Pratchett another chance, reading Night Watch which I found much better with a proper story and characters you can relate to. I have since read plenty more and found a deep appreciation of Pratchett's writing even enjoying the earlier ones; however, that is partly for the contrast and seeing how however, that is partly for the contrast and seeing how he developed his craft.however, that is partly for the contrast and seeing how he developed his craft.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:19 am (UTC)Someone else recommended Night Watch; it sounds like a good bet. I hadn't thought of the Tiffany Aching books, partly because I find the fanfiction isn't as interesting, but I'll look out for them. Perhaps my local Oxfam bookshop will oblige.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:20 pm (UTC)As I mentioned in a comment below I have recently been introduced to
Garth Nix, through a friend giving me the Abhorsen series for my birthday
(Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen). They are young adult
fantasy books with their very own world, i.e. not (bad) Tolkien copies.
And in Lirael there is a fantastic library; one of the characters
gets a position as an assistant librarian and is issued a dagger as part
of her uniform...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:24 pm (UTC)Garth Nix is definitely another author I ought to give a try to; there
seems to be a fair amount of fanfiction for them around. And libraries
are definitely a draw :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:26 pm (UTC)My friend certainly knew mentioning the library would draw me in! Indeed
the scene in the library in the Torchwood episode of Doctor Who depicted
in this icon is the moment I became a Who-fan. (I grew up in a deprived
country where Doctor Who wasn't broadcast until after I left, so Ten was
my first Doctor.)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:28 pm (UTC)Gosh, My First Doctor is another thread we could have :) Mine was Four,
though at that date I was definitely in the Hiding Under The Sofa viewer
category.
I'm not remembering the ep from your icon, but the library duo ('Silence
in the Library' & 'Forest of the Dead') is one of my favourites.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:22 pm (UTC)A friend of mine got me Garth Nix's Abhorsen series for my birthday, which are young adult fantasy books. She totally sold me on them by telling me about the library that turns up in the second book Lirael. They are very different to Tolkien, intentionally so, with no elves or dragons, but people with magical abilities. If you don't mind young adult -- very much not children -- literature, I would recommend you try them. They have some dark and deep themes about duty -- and death -- and when I got them I read all three of them in a week I so wanted to know what would happen. Then I was very sad that I had read them all and that there wasn't more adventures to go on!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:22 pm (UTC)I'm not into young adult books in general. Read a few of the Star Trek version and swore them off for the rest of my life, I'm afraid. I do like children's books; my actual problem with Narnia is the horrible preaching.
The best children's book I've ever read was a Hungarian one featuring speaking animals and a little boy who could understand them: "Island-Blue" by Magda Szabó.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:33 pm (UTC)I read the first of those a while ago - it was interesting, but I never got as far as getting hold of the second one, but it sounds like I should :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:37 pm (UTC)Fair warning: the second and third book are very much part one and two of a new chapter in the story. While Sabriel feels finished at the end the adventure is only just started in Lirael and I was very pleased I had the next book to continue on with straight-away. If you have a problem with cliff-hangers (or are just naturally impatient like me) you might want to make sure you get both of them...
and
Thanks! Cliffhangers are evil (and to be avoided if possible ;) )
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:56 pm (UTC)I have been known not to watch the last episode of a season of TV series until I have the first one of the next season as well, just to avoid being left hanging. I shall blame it on my fear of heights! ;-)
and [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] replied:
tv show cliffhangers can be so annoying!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:09 pm (UTC)Just like in fanfic. And I went on telling about Tolkienfic author Fiondil who is capable of ending every single chapter of his usually 50-chapter-stories with an evil cliffie.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:35 pm (UTC)As I mentioned in a comment below I have recently been introduced to Garth Nix, through a friend giving me the Abhorsen series for my birthday (Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen). They are young adult fantasy books with their very own world, i.e. not (bad) Tolkien copies. And in Lirael there is a fantastic library; one of the characters gets a position as an assistant librarian and is issued a dagger as part of her uniform...
to which
Garth Nix is definitely another author I ought to give a try to; there seems to be a fair amount of fanfiction for them around. And libraries are definitely a draw :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:38 pm (UTC)wow - that sounds very cool! :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:48 pm (UTC)My friend certainly knew mentioning the library would draw me in! Indeed the scene in the library in the Torchwood episode of Doctor Who depicted in this icon is the moment I became a Who-fan. (I grew up in a deprived country where Doctor Who wasn't broadcast until after I left, so Ten was my first Doctor.)
and
Gosh, My First Doctor is another thread we could have :) Mine was Four, though at that date I was definitely in the Hiding Under The Sofa viewer category.
I'm not remembering the ep from your icon, but the library duo ('Silence in the Library' & 'Forest of the Dead') is one of my favourites.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:29 pm (UTC)Me:
> That is a wonderful library! (although scary episodes...)
> (and this comment is claiming that it is blank for some reason....)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:30 pm (UTC)That was one scary episode! I think it tied with 'The Empty Child' for
scariest & favouritest (if I'm allowed to make up words). I've found the
new aliens by far scarier than the endless revivals of daleks & cybermen.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:23 pm (UTC)> Definitely - Daleks and Cybermen aren't really that scary...
> I also find the Angels scary - especially after the last episode (....
> stopping as spoilers)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:24 pm (UTC)They were definitely scary! I couldn't sleep afterwards; felt exactly
like childhood! [Haven't seen the recent eps which featured Angels, by
the way.]
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:25 pm (UTC)> I've been careful not to watch any at bedtime, because I don't want
> nightmares... and have done okay so far on that score...
> and lj is sulking at me so I don't know if this comment will work :(
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:25 pm (UTC)All of your comments have looked ok to me! I don't know what LJ is doing,
but mine is working fine.
As to nightmares, I'm very suggestible. And quite a wimp.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:32 pm (UTC)> Good to hear - it is showing the "add a comment" button greyed out most
> of the time, then spinning when do get to send a comment through.
> I am too - I can't watch anything that is supposed to be scary. When I
> was 11 and away at school my father would read books to tape for me to
> listen to, and thought that Lord of the Rings was a good choice -
> I got as far as the Hobbits being chased by the Nazgul and kept seeing
> Nazgul in the moving curtains on the windows that night... terrifying -
> as everyone else in the room way away for the weekend I ended up sleeping
> with the light on...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:32 pm (UTC)I got conned into watching one of the Hannibal Lecter films once -- I had
to watch another film before I dared set foot outside the cinema, and I
couldn't sleep at all for several days, and had nightmares for weeks. It
was years before I could watch another film with Anthony Hopkins in it,
even!
These days I won't watch a film rated more than 12 unless someone's
pre-watched it for me!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:34 pm (UTC)> Ekk! That's terrible! Very sensible! *offers hugs*
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:35 pm (UTC)Thank you!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:29 pm (UTC)I agree the angels really disturb me.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:37 pm (UTC)I find both Daleks and Cybermen ridiculous. I mean, intellectually I know
that they're deadly and merciless, but the visuals crack me up every
time.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:01 am (UTC)This is just because we need more primary comments, as these determine
when the next page is reached.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:11 pm (UTC)True. We need more guests with more topics.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:13 pm (UTC)Waves at Finch across the room!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:59 pm (UTC)Waves back!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:25 pm (UTC)Good work!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:34 pm (UTC)Hi, nice to meet you again!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:02 am (UTC)How about a books thread?
I've put off reading Pratchett for ages, after not much enjoying the very
early Discworld novels, but picked up Going Postal on holiday
(when it rained for two days straight) and quite enjoyed it. Can anyone
recommend another Discworld novel I might like? Or suggest another
fantasy novelist that might be more to my taste?
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:08 pm (UTC)> It depends why you think you liked Going Postal - the early
> Discworld books are by far the weakest, but the humour is mostly the
> same. The later books mostly have a more coherent plot and feel more like
> books (the early ones feel to me like they might have been better as
> separate episodes or something...)
> My favourite for ages has been Carpe Jugulum, but I haven't read
> it in ages. Generally, I'd recommend the Watch books (Guards,
> Guards is the first) and those lead into the other Ankh-Morpork books
> (Monstrous Regiment is another great one)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:09 pm (UTC)I seem to recall what I didn't like in the earlier books (I think I read
Colour of Magic & Mort) was the fact that they felt more
like short stories expanded to novel length, and the characters were
caricatures. There's an element of that about Going Postal, but
the character of Moist felt more rounded, and he developed through the
novel. The Watch certainly seem to generate the bulk of the fanfiction
these days, which tends to suggest rounder characters.
Hmm, what fantasy do I enjoy... Tolkien obviously; Ursula Le Guin's
Earthsea series; Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series; lots
of Diana Wynne Jones, especially the early novels; Neil Gaiman's
American Gods & Neverwhere; and probably lots more that I'm
blanking on.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:13 pm (UTC)> hmm.. I suspect I am not a good person to give you recs, as I kind of
> bounced off Earthsea and Dark is Rising - although I should
> possibly try reading Dark is Rising again at some point as I read
> it as a teenager when I really wasn't a sff reader.
> Most of my favourites are worldbuilding and politics heavy - Guy Gavriel
> Kay, Paksenarrion series - Elizabeth Moon, Chalion and
> Sharing Knife series - Lois McMaster Bujold
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:14 pm (UTC)I think perhaps I like a lot of disparate things in fantasy, so we might
have overlapping tastes. I love Earthsea for the wonderful writing
as much as anything else. Having constructed an encyclopedia for the
universe, it's definitely thinner than say Tolkien. I can understand not
caring for Dark is Rising; for me it stands up less well than the
others to reading as an adult.
I really ought to try Bujold's fantasy universes, as I enjoy the
Vorkosigan series, particularly the books that deal with Barrayar
politics.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:16 pm (UTC)> Her fantasy books are great - really interesting worldbuilding and loads
> of politics and interesting characters.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:17 pm (UTC)Which do you suggest I start with? I'm always on the lookout for a new
Yuletide fandom.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:22 pm (UTC)> Curse Of Chalion is a good place to start (definitely read it
> before Paladin of Souls as spoilers).
> The Sharing Knife ones start with Beguilement, but the
> series is very slow starting - the first two books are mostly romance
> plot wise with other things going on in the background before things
> start getting going (I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the series
> until the forth (final) book came out and then it grabbed me properly ;)
> )
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:24 pm (UTC)I need to start making a wishlist :) Mr EA got given a bunch of Amazon
vouchers for a work bonus, and I have his password [rubs hands
evilly].
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:51 pm (UTC)I am reading "Going Postal" at the moment I like it a lot. Terry
Pratchett really is a gifted writer.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:03 am (UTC)Cheery topic #2 - birthday presents
So, this year I actually wanted to get myself an e-reader... or rather
Mum wanted to get it for me. Instead, I got myself a new bed and Mum got
me 3 new cases for the new mattress and 3 long-sleeved t-shirts. Still,
I'm rather content with the outcome.
Has the same ever happened to you? Getting something completely different
and still being happy about it? Come, tell me.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:04 am (UTC)Hm, fantasy books are hard. I always compare them with Tolkien, and so
far every single one of them lost.*g*
Ursula K. L Guin is fantastic where worldbuilding is considered, but I
find her incredibly depressing. And Larry Alexander's stories, lovely
though they are, are clearly meant for children. So is Narnia; only that
I don't really like Narnia.
I own an anthology titled "Tales Before Tolkien", which is very
interesting, but the tales themselves are, well, mediocre at best. I
positively hated George R.R. Martin's stuff; tried the first volume but
never got any further than 1/3 of it. Ever since then, I've been
extremely wary when it comes to give a fantasy book a try.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:23 pm (UTC)Obviously I don't find Le Guin depressing, although actually I've read
rather little of her works. I adored Narnia as a child, but find
it's one of those tales that doesn't work as well for me as an adult.
There again, I have in my head an ur-Narnia, which Lewis failed to
encapsulate in words adequately. It's a pastoral landscape based in
England that I suspect is similar to Tolkien's vision of the Shire.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:22 pm (UTC)> *nods* Narnia was good to read as a child, although I hated the
> last line - it seemed so unfair (the more better adventures that won't be
> told here) - but it works less well as an adult reader.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:22 pm (UTC)The Silver Chair was always my favourite, but my childhood copy
seems to have disappeared, so I haven't reread it as an adult.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:38 pm (UTC)Perhaps the fact that I was already 30 when I first encountered Narnia
explains why I never really got into it.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:39 pm (UTC)There's a fantastic series called "Crown of Stars" by Kate Daniels. It's
seven books in total and easily one of the best fantasy series I've ever
read. It's complex, well-written, and amazing. I'd recommend it if you
wanted to give fantasy another try.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:50 pm (UTC)I'd gladly give it a try if it were availabe. Usually, we don't get
English books here, unless in (really godawful) translation. Besides, as
Mum tends to say, we shouldn't get many more books into the house
before we've managed to get rid half of which are already here. Tiny
little flat and all.*sighs*
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:43 pm (UTC)> I haven't read George R.R. Martin - the first one is on my list of things
> to try at some point, but it sounds like it would be depressing to read,
> so I've been leaving it. There seem to be a lot of very bad fantasy out
> there, but there are some good ones as well.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:44 pm (UTC)There's depressing and there's depressing. Ursula K Le Guin is
depressing, but she writes amazing stuff, so I like her books
nevertheless. Martin's book, however, is confusing, in parts deadly
boring and not very well written, IMO? although the rest of the planet's
population seems to be disagreeing with me.
oh, and it's depressing like hell, too.
The TV version is slightly less boring, but with way too much gratutious
nudity. I only watched it because of Sean Bean, but since he got killed
off I saw no reason to punish myself after that.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 03:30 pm (UTC)> Some of Le Guin's books are very interesting, but others I just found
> dull....
> I have no idea why some books become so popular - it generally seems to
> have nothing to do with the quality of the book... like so many other
> things :(
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 03:31 pm (UTC)You can't *possibly* be thinking of fanfic, can you?
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:24 pm (UTC)This year for my birthday my Mother adopted me an otter at London Zoo. How is that for unexpected but great? The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) that run London Zoo (in Regent's Park) allow you to 'adopt' some of their animals which gives you one free visit to the Zoo and a subscription to their quarterly magazine. My friend J and I had adopted a penguin for our friend K the year before and I told Mum about our visit and how much I enjoyed the Zoo, so when she came to visit last summer we went there together. Mum lived in London for a few years in the sixties training to be a nurse and had visited London Zoo once during that time, but found it utterly depressing because the animals had so little space. She was very pleased to be back and see how much nicer it was now. The reason she adopted me an otter is because she remembered how I fell in love with the sea otters when we visited the Vancouver aquarium on our cross-Canada trip almost ten years ago. So I got a lovely visit to the zoo -- I went with my friend K one gorgeous sunny and warm weekend in September -- and the warmth of being reminded of Mum's and my Canadian adventure.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:24 pm (UTC)Otters are always good! We had a wonderful sighting of a pair of young wild otters this summer on Mull. We spotted them swimming along parallel to the road, and after following them for a while they came out onto the shore not ten feet away from us and rolled around posing for photos. Unfortunately we weren't able to oblige, as I wasn't carrying my camera.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 12:45 pm (UTC)The ones at London Zoo were very cooperative as well and showed off for us. This was partly due to us making sure to be there at feeding time, but they did seem a lively and playful bunch in general. I did remember my camera, though my friend K did not... Seeing wild otters would be even better, though! My happy wild-life encounter of this year was seeing dolphins off the coast of Lewis -- jumping clear out of the water. However, there are no photos of that because they were unpredictable in where they jumped and were only visible for very short periods at a time. Still my absolute favourite part of the holiday, and sometimes I think having the memories is good enough; there shouldn't have to be photos of things for you (read: me!) to feel they were real.
and
I'm always happier seeing wild animals than ones in zoos, but it's good that the London Zoo ones were happy enough to show off for you. We saw leaping dolphins on Mull too, but they were pretty far out in the channel when we saw them. According to the people who'd rented the adjacent cottage to us (very keen wildlife watchers who kept on telling us about the incredible events we'd just missed) there was a big pod having a feeding frenzy for most of an afternoon, but by the time we got there, they'd moved away from shore. I agree about memories cf photos, but I wish my memory was less leaky!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:29 pm (UTC)You know the best unexpected birthday gift I got -- a trip to your home
city to hear Steve Reich! And to meet you too, though I don't think that
was part of Mr EA's planned present :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:05 am (UTC)Five more threads needed to reach Page 2 if I have counted correctly. So
here is Nr 1: my Norton is evil. The newest version is so advanced it
always does something in the background, slowing down both my laptop and
my main PC beyond endurance and screwing up my mailing programme.
Apparetly, it also keeps the comps safe, but so did the previous version,
without laming them. *sighs* Ain't progress a beautiful thing?
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:22 pm (UTC)Norton was the first thing to become untenable on the old laptop. I
replaced it with a product called Vipre, which protected just as well,
but wasn't as processor heavy.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:51 pm (UTC)I'll have to suggest it to the guy who deals with my computers once
Norton runs out. I've paid for it for a year and still have 3 months
left.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:16 pm (UTC)The change from Norton to Vipre allowed me to use the old laptop for
about 6 months, until Mozilla got too bloated to work. I hope it works
for you!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:45 pm (UTC)> Norton is bad like that! I gave up on it a long time ago - freeware
> antivirus software is much less of a problem, I've found.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:46 pm (UTC)Which one do you use? Is it really complicated to install? Is it safe?
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:06 am (UTC)And we've passed the 150-comment mark, too! Yay!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:20 pm (UTC)yay!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:06 am (UTC)Yay -you've passed the 170 comment mark
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:27 pm (UTC)Going for two hundred now! [Icon love!]
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:34 pm (UTC)I have to say I love your Icon
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:36 pm (UTC)Thank you! It came from a tile design by William De Morgan -- I can't
find the precise set but Google images brings up loads of dragon designs.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:53 pm (UTC)Of course you still need to be able to actually make icons for the great
images to be of any use for you. Another skill I don't have. *sighs*
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:18 pm (UTC)I'm pretty rubbish at icon making but I think simple ones can be made
just with free image editing programs (Gimp was recommended to me, but
I've never tried it).
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:07 am (UTC)I am going to go to bed now and dream of all the new comments, new pages
and collapsing threads that will occur at this fabulous party. So much
fun chatting with you all!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:08 am (UTC)Except having counted the top level comments, I couldn't resist adding
one more, because I believe this should start a new page...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 01:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:04 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:32 pm (UTC)And indeed it does! Does the dance of the second page!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:39 pm (UTC)> Yay! Page 2! \o/
> (and lj is being very wierd about me commenting at the moment...)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:40 pm (UTC)Has there been a time when LJ wasn't weird lately?
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:09 am (UTC)And this should be the 200th comment, unless someone beats me to it! I
was going to raise the First Doctor? question which got mentioned
upthread with Solanpolarn.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 01:04 pm (UTC)As mentioned above Ten was my first Doctor. In Sweden were I grew up Doctor Who wasn't broadcast until after I had moved to Britain in 2006. I knew I was sold on the series at the moment depicted in my icon, when Ten says "You want weapons? We are in a library! Books! Best weapons in the world." This occurs in the second episode of Ten's first season, which is the Queen Victoria in the Highlands episode with the werewolves. I did see the first episode in this series as well and liked it well enough -- I did watch the next episode after all. But that ringing endorsement of books is what won my heart for all time. Of course the fact that they later on did a double episode set in a planet-sized library is just proof that my love and faith was well-placed. :-)
After becoming a fan, I have watched all of Ten's episodes and continue to watch Eleven; I have also caught up on New Doctor Who by watching Nine. Some friends have helped me to see a couple of episodes of Seven, but I haven't got further than that.
to which
Ah, yes, the Victorian werewolf episode. I'd forgotten it had that line. Your icon is brilliant!
Me again, with a new comment: I didn't actually make this icon, but I did go out looking for one of this particular scene and choose the one I liked the best. It seems more people than me liked it enough to think it worthy of an icon. :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 01:05 pm (UTC)That was a great line! :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:09 pm (UTC)Thank you! So is yours. I do so love cats
and kittens. :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:12 pm (UTC)I think lots of people picked that framegrab, but it did appeal to this
cat-owned human :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 05:59 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:32 pm (UTC)Mine was 10 - first ep of the 3rd series BBC America was doing a
marathon, and I got hooked.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:33 pm (UTC)It's interesting how many people seem to have missed out on the Hiding
Behind the Sofa experience as children :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-08 01:08 pm (UTC)Nah, we just hid behind the sofa for different reasons. mine was a French
series called Belphegor - the Phantom of the Louvre - the old
version, featuring Juliette Gréco, not the new one.
It counted as so scary that we children weren't allowed to watch it at
all, so we had to get glimpses durign the reruns when the adults weren't
at home. In hindsight it couldn't have been so scary, as the reruns were
in the morning, but, well, in the 1960s...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:27 pm (UTC)Me:
> I didn't see any of it as a child, as my family didn't have a tv.
> However, I have recently started watching from 1, but not got very far
> yet... 11 is a mixture of good and bad - some of the episodes are great,
> some a appalling, the arc plots are possibly a bit better than 10's but
> still have holes... (I don't understand why the whole series does arc
> plot so badly)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:28 pm (UTC)My television watching was hugely curtailed as a child, but I was allowed
to watch BBC children's television. (But not ITV until I was about 15.) I
don't really know why I didn't give Moffat a try, as I liked many of his
episodes. To be honest it might just be that I've almost given up
watching live television altogether. I suppose that holes are inevitable
when one farms out episodes to a large number of writers, but I'm not
sure I understand exactly what Moffat/RTD were doing for their money.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:29 pm (UTC)> *nods* There seems to be very little good on tv... I don't know - I guess
> Babylon 5 spoiled me for arc plot (in that most things there fit -
> there are a few odds and end s that seem to be dropped but not may) - I
> guess there just needs to be someone in charge who is looking at the big
> picture more than writing episodes...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:30 pm (UTC)Babylon Five is yet another thing that I've never seen that
innumerable people have recommended. DS9 didn't do too badly until the
final season when everything was a bit odd & rushed.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:33 pm (UTC)> Babylon 5 is my favourite tv show - it does an amazing job of arc
> plot, characters (there are so many wonderful characters, including so
> many one episode characters that seem so real and detailing) - in some
> ways it is dated, but in a lot of ways it holds up better than a lot of
> sf shows...
> I haven't seem DS9 properly - I've seen loads of episodes, but not in the
> right order (makes it hard to judge the arc plot) - I should really watch
> it properly :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:34 pm (UTC)Most people I know who rave about B5 also rave about DS9. (There again,
they're mainly B7 fans originally, which is not something one could
recommend for world-building, continuity, or the like.) It's particularly
good for strong women, and it has a number of memorable one-off
characters.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:36 pm (UTC)> Strong women are good - and sadly rare in tv - I might have to check that
> out at some point (characters are the most important thing to me - I can
> forgive many things in books and tv if the characters are interesting) :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:36 pm (UTC)Two of the leads (Kira Nerys & Jadzia Dax) present very different
versions of strong women, and neither is defined by her romantic
relationships. Nor are they expected to be chaste to be taken seriously;
in fact they get more action than most of the male leads! And there are
some wonderful minor female characters; in particular, Winn Adami is one
of the most interesting women in televisual sf, to my mind. [Really
must get myself a DS9 icon with a woman on it; both of mine are
Bashir!]
If you do pick it up, S1 is a bit uneven; there are a few poor eps. It
really picks up in S2 through to S6. I didn't like S7 as much, tho'
others differ.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:55 pm (UTC)Mine is Nine.
I liked Threee and Four moderately well in the few episodes I got to see.
Still want to see some of Five. I absolutely despised Ten, and I must add
that the only episode I swaw with Eleven didn't impress me much.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:58 pm (UTC)I've stopped watching. I'm not sure if it's because of Eleven, or because
the show is getting repetitive.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:21 pm (UTC)I liked Five as a child -- but Mr EA stopped watching because of him. I
seem to have lost my Nine icon! Aie!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 07:10 pm (UTC)> Which episode with 11 did you see?
> (I must admit that 11 is my least favourite Doctor of the ones that I've
> seen, but Amy and Rory made up for him most of the time... [spoilers])
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 07:11 pm (UTC)Amy and Rory are indeed fantastic! I love their interactions both with
the Doctor and with each other and the fact that they are in some way
reverse gender stereotypes.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 07:24 pm (UTC)> Very true. (and much more rounded and detailed characters than most of
> the recent companions, and get to be far more equals of the Doctor)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 07:24 pm (UTC)Oh yes, I got quite fed-up with how Rose and Martha seemed to be defined
by their romantic love/crush for/on the Doctor. I had such high hopes for
Martha too, because in her first episode she was a well-educated, though
and smart young professional woman and that could have been such a good
character to have the Doctor bounce off of.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:31 pm (UTC)> My first Doctor was 10 - the final episode of the 2nd season because a
> friend was visiting and wanted to watch it... then was hooked and watched
> some random episodes that were shown on tv, and started watching properly
> with the next season...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 06:33 pm (UTC)I had Four & Five as a child, then gave up on Six and missed out entirely
on Seven (& Eight). I was enough of a fan to pick up on the first episode
of the reboot, but I've entirely dropped out now. I got tired of Ten/Rose
& Martha bashing & even more tired of the standalones that ended Ten, and
I've not even seen Eleven in action, despite repeated promptings from
Altariel.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:10 am (UTC)I have to ask - how do you know exactly how many posts are here? Is there
a magic invisible elf that tells you?
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:40 pm (UTC)In the style I'm using, the number of existing comments is right next to
the Reply button: currently '234 replies | Reply'
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:01 pm (UTC)I thought it was some Jedi mind trick!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:20 pm (UTC)I shouldn't have given up my secret!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:10 am (UTC)Happy birthday thread! I hope it reaches 1000. That would be fun.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:53 pm (UTC)Indeed! :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:11 am (UTC)Sammy cat wanted to make sure everyone had enough cake
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 03:54 pm (UTC)Oh, yummy! Thanks!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:13 am (UTC)Thanks for the numerous comments and interesting threads so far. Off to
work now. I'll give you a detailed report about the big baking adventure
with the kids when I'm back.
Feel free to use the space to chat in my absence. Our aim is now Page 3.
:)
*waves*
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:22 pm (UTC)Have a good day! Hopefully there will be 300 comments on your return!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:13 am (UTC)Anyone watching "A Game of Thrones" here? Any opinions? (Wiseheart, stop
me if you don't want to hear about this!)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:14 am (UTC)Happy Birthday wishes! Hope you have a brilliant day!
How many more comments are needed to reach the magical 1000?
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:46 pm (UTC)Me:
> So 8 more to reach 300 comments? :)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:48 pm (UTC)About that, I think when I edited my comment the number went up by one
but I don't know if that was my edit or someone adding a comment to
another thread. Computer things confuse me!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 02:54 pm (UTC)Livejournal is like that! Confusing all the time! ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 03:14 pm (UTC)Very true! Every time I get used to something, they change it. After four
years, I'm still as lost as I was at the start!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 03:14 pm (UTC)Yes - just keeping changing for no reason :(
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-09 03:29 pm (UTC)I took one look at the new style update page and went back to the old
one. The new one looks so much harder to use and it's untidy. I hate all
the scrolling up and down. I hope they let people opt out of the new
style.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 11:15 am (UTC)I don't check LJ for a few days, and not only do I find a birthday party
in progress, but nearly 300 comments!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:28 pm (UTC)Hail & welcome!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-10-07 04:42 pm (UTC)Welcome to the party!
*imagine the teddy bear icon here - LJ refuses to let me change them*