wiseheart | Party pooper LJ!

artemis10002000 said:

FIRST!

Mwahahaha!

altariel:
Last!

me:
But not least. *g*

Gah, lj! :(
I hope the original post reappears!

Me too! We were having so much fun and it is really annoying that the whole post just has disappeared.

Well, I still have a lot of comments, and as you see, I'm about to repost them.

I was just about to import the whole thing to DW, but, well, I was late. :(

It is typical isn't it that the time you are late in backing things up is also the time the primary system fails. :-(

Good luck with the reposting!

Well, it sure as Hell will be far from complete, but that's Murphy's Law for you.

Maybe the rest of us can help out by filling in some of the comments you don't have as you go through.

That would be extremely helpful, thanks.

Thank you for reposting your cake picture. I've saved the recipe on my laptop and will add it tomorrow.

I was wondering what happened

It seems at least one other person has had this problem from this question on the support board. However, the fact that it is still unanswered more than 4 months later does not bode well.

We won't let LJ beat us! Should anyone have a comment/picture/whatever that I've missed, feel free to repost. It will be a pain, but I'm gonna regularly import to DW. So it won't be in vain.

Again,

artemis10002000 replied to a comment:

Indeed! But considering the unquestionable Nietzschean superiority as
> compared with mere kludges, that is not surprising, is it?

Their reply was:

Of course. Nietzscheans can't let themselves be bested by the genetically
inferior.

lhun_dweller:

Hey, Nietzie! Your lab test came back: turns out your great-uncle twice
removed was a monkey! HAH HAH HAH....

artemis10002000:

> Hey, Nietzie! Your lab test came back: turns out your great-uncle twice
> removed was a monkey! HAH HAH HAH....

Their reply was:

That merely shows the inferiority of the lab technicians!

rcfinch:

> Hey, Nietzie! Your lab test came back: turns out your great-uncle twice
> removed was a monkey! HAH HAH HAH....

Their reply was:

Wasn't that Darwin?

wiseheart:
Ain't that the truth!

jenn_calaelen said:

Yay party! Happy early birthday!

A brief exchange of comments between us along the same thread:

> Thanks! I find that I've taken to celebrating myself - and the fact that
> I've managed to survive another year on this planet - in the recent
> years. :)

> BTW, made some headway with the Umbar story, so Chapter 2 might actually
> be finished in time for the Edhellond anniversary. Woot!

Their reply was:

Surviving is a good reason to celebrate :)

Go you! I have started thinking about ideas - but really need to do some
digging through canon and fact check before I get too attached to an idea
that won't work ;

More along the same thread:

Me:
> Don't I know the feeling! All my plotbunnies are born rabid, and there's
> no way to herd them properly.

Jenn:

Either that or they start off really vague and take a lot of work to get
started... this time feels like one of the rabid ones - hopefully it will
cooperate with the length range and not try and become an epic...

There are a few posts missing that I can't reconstruct from memory, sadly. Then me:

IKR? You're talking to the old hag who is capable of turning a drabble
> into a twenty-chapter monstrosity by simply not paying enough attention.
> *g*

jenn_calaelen:
plot bunnies... they seem to be very good at being what is not needed at
the time ;)

Me:
Yeah, but what would we be without them?

jenn_calaelen:

Stuck! :)

lhun_dweller:

> Thanks! I find that I've taken to celebrating myself - and the fact that
> I've managed to survive another year on this planet - in the recent
> years. :)

> BTW, made some headway with the Umbar story, so Chapter 2 might actually
> be finished in time for the Edhellond anniversary. Woot!

Their reply was:

Yay! Someday, I'm going to have time to be active in Tolkfic again and
get my Oh-so-special Sue done!

And here I said something about what a great day *that* will be.

That is so unfair, LJ! We were having such a good time and you took all the pretty pictures and things away! BAD LJ!

As you can see below, I've found the first cake picture, and I hope I can unearth more from my inbox.

It's so sad though, all those messages and pictures and stuff taken away. Does LJ not like people having a good time? Did the internet monster eat it? I didn't know things could just vanish like that.

Neither did I. Your icon expresses what I feel.

I hope none of my posts mysteriously vanish. I'd hate to lose all the lovely comments I got.

Should I re-post your birthday ficlet?

Please, do. In a separate comment, if I may ask. I secretly plan to get to Page 2 tonight.

One new thread coming up in a minute!

You are a jewel!

I aim to please! Not letting LJ get away with ruining things.

I think this calls for your "if in doubt - grab Ianto!" icon *g*

I'm sure you're right!

I love that icon!

It's one of my favourites - I always say it's Jack's unofficial motto.

It's by

teaandbiscuits if you want to copy it for yourself.

artemis10002000 answered to the Favourite Cake thread:

Important thread #01: What is your favourite cake?

> If you have a recipe to share, share it. If you have a yummy picture,
> show it! Let us all drool over our keyboards with virtual delight!

Their reply was:

Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte!

Edited 2012-10-06 22:48 (UTC)

espresso_addict in the same thread, describing lemon cake for me:

> Hmmm... never heard of that one, but it sounds like a certain sort of
> orange cake I sometimes make for Christmas, only with lemons.

Their reply was:

It's sort of a moist, sweet lemon sponge, with lemony syrup drizzled
through the top two-thirds of the cake. Mmmm...

jenn_calaelen:

> Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte!

Their reply was:

That is an amazing looking cake! :)

jenn_calaelen again, answering my cake comment:

> To be fair to my guests, I'm gonna share, too: it's still the traditional
> Dobos Cake (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/dobos-torte/detail.aspx). I still haven't figured out how to make the insert picture
> thingy work in a comment, but if you follow the link, you'll get the
> recipe as well as 15 photos of the yummy cake.

Their reply was:

Sounds yummy! This thread is making me want to do more baking - haven't
for a while. :)

Edited 2012-10-06 23:11 (UTC)

And she again, answering

espresso_addict's cake entry:

> I don't have a picture or a recipe but my favouritest cake is the really
> sharp, lemony, moist lemon drizzle cake that one can buy from a little
> caravan cafe in the Macclesfield Forest visitors' car park. It is simply
> scrummy, and sitting at a picnic table eating it and watching the birds &
> squirrels in the surrouding trees waiting for the crumbs is really
> restful.

Their reply was:

Lemon drizzle cake is delicious! :)

espresso_addict:

> Lemon drizzle cake is delicious! :)

Their reply was:

It is fantastic, especially when the lemon's nice & tart. We really need
to introduce Soledad to the cake :)

Me:
Yesss, Precioussss, you mussst! If for no other reason then to give me
> the chance to compare it with the Heavenly Orange Cake (TM).

espresso_addict:

I'll have to learn how to make it! I can't recall when I last baked a
cake. Probably back in my early 20s.

wiseheart:
I for my part find baking very relaxing. Even if the results aren't
always what I'd hoped for.

espresso_addict:
I find cooking really stressful, for some reason. I'm not a very
practical bear.

wiseheart:
I would, too, if I had to do it every day. But since Mum and I split the
household duties between us (meaning the one who feels like it does the
cooking, or we buy something in the supermarket or in a cheap restaurant)
it is more like a way to get my mind off my school-related stress.

espresso_addict:

Mr EA does most of the cooking when he's here. (He really is a treasure.)
We've started freezing extra portions so I can microwave them during the
week when he isn't. I can just about manage the microwave! Otherwise I
tend to resort to bought soup or things on toast.

wiseheart:
A microwave really is a blessing. We don't have one, for the simple
reason because we can't find a place where to put it. So we have to warm
up leftovers over a bowl of boilign water, but it never has the same
taste that way.

espresso_addict:
One of the few disadvantages of the cottage we've rented on Mull a couple
of times now is that it doesn't have a microwave, and it was so hard
living without it just for two weeks! Do you not have a little shelf or
something you could put it on? My brother managed a baby-sized one in a
two-room flat that was hard to turn round in.

We've been trying to find a proper place for a microwave for months by now. So far no luck. Stuffing it into a kitchen cupboard, so that you'llh ave to rearrange the whole kitchen when you want to use it isn't really an option.

wiseheart:
Hmmm... never heard of that one, but it sounds like a certain sort of
orange cake I sometimes make for Christmas, only with lemons.

I rather like St. Clements Drizzle cake - moist orange sponge, deeply infused with lemon syrup and topped with white chocolate. so that's my contribution to the party ;)

Happy Birthday

wiseheart

Thank you! I almost overlooked your comment in all the crazy traffic. :P

artemis10002000:

> That is an amazing looking cake! :)

Their reply was:

Unfortunately mine looks never quite that nice!

Me, telling how mine looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

jenn_calaelen:

> Unfortunately mine looks never quite that nice!

Their reply was:

How it tastes is more important ;)

Me: Yes, but if you've put a lot of work into it, it's annoying that it doesn't look as it's supposed to.

jenn_calaelen

Me:
True, but it *is* disheartening if you've worked on it like a slave
> (Kirschtorte is very work-intensive) and it still doesn't look as it's
> supposed to.

> I guess the oven is resposnible for a lot of mishaps. If your biscuit
> doesn't go up evenly, the final shape can be... erm... unusual.

Her:

I understand that. I am usually bad at actually icing cakes as it
requires me not to eat the cake sooner.

I'm just going to butt in and say that's my favorite cake as well. Had it at our wedding :)

Happy Birthday by the way!

Ooh, elmey, welcome! Thanks for dropping by! As you can see, we're in the middle of a recovery mission - and after such a terrible loss, too!

Yeah, it's a lot of extra work for you! I should go scout around for cake pictures. Schwarzwälder Kirsch may be my favorite, but I'm willing to eat all sorts :)

That would be very kind of you. I won't have LJ rob me of the best birthday party I've ever had!

I am falling asleep in front of my computer so I shall take myself off to bed. Before doing that though I thought I would just repost my photo and comment in the cake thread:

My favourite cake is chocolate cake! :-) There are many different types of chocolate cake, though and I am always happy to try new ones.

This is a chocolate truffle cake that I made for the wedding of two friends, hence the heart shape in the raspberries. I often make it for birthdays as well though. The first time I had it two other friends made it for me having found the recipe and decided it was definitely a cake for me; they even called it "Solveig's cake".

solanpolarn:
And here is the recipe, in case anyone is interested. I have some vegan
friends, so my recipe includes instructions on how to make this cake
without any animal products. It really turns out extremely tasty that way
too and I have occasionally made it vegan even for groups where no one is
and having even the most dedicated carnivores enjoy it. I thought I would
leave the comments on how to 'veganise' the cake in here since it might
come in handy, not just when baking for vegans but for people who are
allergic to milk and/or eggs.

Chocolate truffle cake

For the cake: 2 eggs – for vegan version use e.g. 2 tbsps ground
flax seed +1dl liquid 2 dl sugar 1 dl plain flour ½ dl cocoa powder 1 tsp
vanilla sugar (not essential) 100 g butter – for vegan version use vegan
margarine

Melt the margarine and let it cool. Mix the sugar and margarine with a
whisk. Add the eggs and the dry ingredients. Pour into a baking greased
baking tin, preferably with removable sides and bake in oven at 175ºC for
approx. 30 minutes. The cake should still be a bit 'gooey' in the middle,
so don't leave it in too long. You can also bake it in the microwave at
high power for 5-10 minutes, depending on the microwave. It hardens quite
a bit as it cools down, so start with a short time and see how it looks.
If it needs cooking for a bit longer you can just add extra time, even
after it has cooled down.

For the icing 200 g of good quality chocolate (I used Green &
Black's 70%) 200 ml of double cream – for vegan version use soy or oat
cream

Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to boil. Remove from heat and
add the chocolate, broken into pieces, stiring until the chocolate has
completely melted. Pour the mixture into a bowl and put in the fridge to
cool, stiring it occasionally. When it is cool and has thickened, cover
the cake with it. Decorate with berries or fruit. (I like raspberries,
but I am sure other berries/fruit can be used too.)

wiseheart:
Best way to immortalita: having a cake named after you. *g*

aviv_b in the Cake Thread:

It appears that Teddy has opened the box with your cake and ate it. Ida
woke up from her nap to say Happy Birthday!

(http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/5080/27844)

(http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/5080/25619)

Happy Birthday from me and the fur-kids! Hope you have a great birthday!!

jenn_calaelen:

cats! They look very cute! :)

Me:

Oh, cute! Thank you!

sammydragoncat in the Cake Thread:

(http://sammydragoncat.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/315/2764) Wishing you a
Very Happy Birthday!!!!

wiseheart:
Thanks, dear! That's one yummy-looking cake! Do you have a recipe
somewhere online? Strawberries and chocolate are always a good mix.

solanpolarn in the Cake Thread:

Cake! :D Yes, please I'll have some of the chocolate variety if you don't
mind. Thanks for inviting me to the party, and happy early birthday.

P.S. Anyone know how you post comments with different icons than your
default one with this new posting comment interface? I can't seem to
change mine...

wiseheart:
You're welcome! Take a look at the pictures and choose. :)

As for the icons, I don't know what's wrong with yours. I can change
mine, although, admittedly, it takes at least 30 seconds. *curses LJ and
its tendency to fix what wasn't broken*

solanpolarn:

I will have some of the chocolate and strawberry cake to start with,
thank you!

As for the icons, I don't know what's wrong with yours. I can change
mine, although, admittedly, it takes at least 30 seconds. Aha! I
needed to be more patient, and then it works. Here have some chocolate to
celebrate. :-)

wiseheart:
> Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte!

>
src="http://www.schwarzwald-relax.de/images/Schwarzwalder_Kirschtorte.jpg"
> />

Their reply was:

Oh ja, eine sehr gute Wahl! Zu dumm daß mein letzter Versuch wie der
schiefe Turm von Pisa ausgesehen hat!

artemis10002000:
> Oh ja, eine sehr gute Wahl! Zu dumm daß mein letzter Versuch wie der
> schiefe Turm von Pisa ausgesehen hat!

Their reply was:

Hauptsache, es schmeckt!

So toll wie auf dem Internetfoto sieht unsere auch nicht immer aus, aber
es geht ja um den Geschmack.

wiseheart

Stimmt, es ist aber trotzdem ärgerlich wenn man so viel Arbeit reinsteckt
und es trotzdem nie so aussieht wie auf den verflixten Fotos!

artemis10002000
Klar, das schon. Aber die Fotos auf kommerziellen Seiten sind
wahrscheinlich eh von Food Designern aus Plastik gemacht. Damit tröste
ich mich dann immer.

wiseheart
Das ist eine gute Taktik! Werde ich demnächst auch tun!

wiseheart
replied to a comment left by songfire3 (songfire3) in a
LiveJournal post (http://wiseheart.livejournal.com/517868.html). The
comment they replied to was:

> My favourite:

> target="_blank">Chocolate-Guiness Cake (via [Unknown site tag] user="bluestocking79">)

>
src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/songfire/3107761999_77615f2360.jpg"
> width=400 height=279 title="" >

>

Recipe:

> 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1 cup butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound) 1 cup Guinness
> (normal or Extra Stout) 2/3 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups
> all-purpose flour (not self-raising/rising flour) 2 cups granulated sugar
> 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 2 eggs 1/2 cup sour cream (or creme fraiche)

> 1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly dust two greased 8-inch cake pans
> with the 1/4 cup of cocoa powder. (You can also use 8-inch springform
> pans or 9-inch pans for this; just adjust the cooking time a bit, if
> necessary.)

> 2. In heavy saucepan, heat butter, Guinness and cocoa powder until butter
> is melted. Cool to room temp.

> 3. Sift dry ingredients together, add the Guinness-cocoa mixture and beat
> for 1 minute on medium speed. Add eggs and sour cream (or creme fraiche)
> and beat for 2 minutes on medium.

> 4. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until
> inserted knife comes out clean. (Note: I had to add an additional seven
> minutes to the 30 minutes, so be sure to do the knife test and go by
> whether the center of the cake is set.) Cool 15 minutes, remove from pans
> and finish cooling. (Note: use a spatula to gently remove cake from pan
> if necessary, because the cake is very dense and moist. Don't worry; it
> should be able to take it!)

> 5. Use a serrated knife to even tops, if necessary. Frost (recipe
> provided below). Makes 16 servings, or 8-10 if everybody's feeling a bit
> indulgent. ;-)

> Frosting:

> 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 1-1/2 cups confectioners'
> sugar 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

> In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar
> and cream; beat until smooth (do not over-beat). Remove cake from the pan
> and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake so that it
> resembles a frothy pint of beer. Refrigerate leftovers.

Their reply was:

Oh, yummy! I'll definitely try it one day. The Guiness alone would be
reason enough to do so, and the chocolate coming with it... *mhm*

altariel:
My
fortieth birthday cake. The CAPSLOCK CAKE.

espresso_addict:
That'd be quite hard to make at home!

Oh, yes, I remember that one. :))

disthrainsdotte said:

Happy Birthday Soledad, I hope you will have fun. Time does indeed fly.

wiseheart

> Happy Birthday Soledad, I hope you will have fun. Time does indeed fly.

Their reply was:

Thank you! It does, doesn't it?

disthrainsdotte
> Thank you! It does, doesn't it?

Their reply was:

So it is. It feels as if last month was June. But it wasn´t.

wiseheart
Yeah, it's hard to believe that it's been four years since we last met.
Four YEARS! Where has the time flown?

disthrainsdotte:
Where has it flown? I have no idea. It looks as if time goes faster and
faster.

wiseheart:
*nods sagely*

And the older you get, the faster does it go.

disthrainsdotte:
*nods in agreement*

Small wonder then that I sometimes think it would be good to slow down
the world a little.

espresso_addict replied to a comment in the dragon thread:

> Haven't seen that one. Can't wait to see Benedict Cumberbatch's Smaug,
> though. I think his most seductive voice would be a delight to hear. I
> liked the Great Dragon of Merlin, too.

> And then there was this seriously godawful film titled "Fire Dragon", in
> which a fire dragon and an ice dragon fought each other, and they
> actually were made of fire and ice, respectively. Wonderful idea,
> horrible execution.

Their reply was:

The Earthsea anime film is very odd; some of the backdrops are
beautiful, the dragons are spectacular, but the plot is ... bizarre is
the kindest interpretation. There's a picture of the dragon on the
poster, here (http://www.ghibli.jp/images/ged_poster01.jpg),
but I think the version in the film was better.

I have to admit, despite everything, I'm really looking forward to The
Hobbit film. We probably won't get Cumberbatch's Smaug until film 3,
though.

jenn_calaelen in the Dragon Thread:

> Not-so-important thread #1: Seen any pretty dragons lately?

> I watched Dragon Fighter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Fighter), featuring Dean Cain, on German TV tonight. The film
> itself was painfully clichéd and predictable, but boy, were the dragons
> gorgeous!

> Which one was your favourite dragon?

Their reply was:

I recently rewatched How To Train Your Dragon - and the main
dragon in that is very cute (and really feline). I'm also looking forward
to seeing Smaug in the Hobbit film (as well as the rest of the
film, although it will probably be bad in many ways, but hopefully fun as
well).

I really hope that at some point they make a film of the Temeraire
books, as they have loads of wonderful and varied dragons, but not a
lot of hope that they will - or that if they do it would be any good.

Edited 2012-10-06 23:27 (UTC)

Me:
I'll probably want to take hold of those books one day. What you say
> about the dragons sounds very promising.

jenn_calaelen:

They are a good series - although I haven't read the latest one yet.

rcfinch in the Dragon Thread:

The last dragon I saw was Fafner in a performance of Wagner's Siegfried.
His front looked like an old-fashioned steam train. For some reason this
was cute, though I doubt Wagner meant it to be that way. I was sorry when
he died.

Me, mocking about the unsympathetic nature of Wagner's heroes.

rcfinch, answering to the above

Me (OT):
Considering how utterly unliekable Wagner's so-called heroes are, I'm not
> surprised that you preferred the dragon.

> Besides, a dragon resembling a steam train is Tolkien canon, right?
> Remember Bilbo's birthday party and Gandalf's fireworks?

Their reply was:

Wasn´t it an express train in Tolkien´s case? I doubt they still ran on
steam when he wrote LotR. On the other hand, it's a nice thought if the
stage designer of Wagner's Ring wanted to make a nod at Tolkien. The two
ring stories have been compared often enough. I actually wrote a book
about it, which was published last June.

wiseheart:
You have? *is impressed* You're probably right about the express train,
although when I was a child steam trains still went between Hungary and
Romania, so the time alone wouldn't count so much, as while I might be as
old as dirt, I'm still considerably younger than the Professor. *g*

jenn_calaelen, replying to my comment in the Dragon Thread:

> I'm willing to wait for Smaug - he comes failry late into the story
> anyway. Aside from Martin Freeman and the reptiloid Sherlock, though, I'm
> extremely wary about the film as a whole. The Dwarf pictures I saw - with
> one or two exceptions - have already made me want to kill someone...
> slowly and very, very painfully.

Their reply was:

*nods* The pictures of Thranduil are very bad as well...

Me:
Oooh, that's one pretty dragon!

> I'm willing to wait for Smaug - he comes failry late into the story
> anyway. Aside from Martin Freeman and the reptiloid Sherlock, though, I'm
> extremely wary about the film as a whole. The Dwarf pictures I saw - with
> one or two exceptions - have already made me want to kill someone...
> slowly and very, very painfully.

espresso_addict:

The dwarves don't look like my mental pictures of dwarves at all! But I
do like Richard Armitage a lot, so I'm prepared to give them a bit of
slack.

jenn_calaelen:

*nods* The pictures of Thranduil are very bad as well...

Edited 2012-10-07 08:10 (UTC)

espresso_addict:

I've managed to miss the Thranduil pictures. Perhaps that's a blessing.

jenn_calaelen:

Probably! ;)

Me:
Considering that the guy who plays him is 3 years younger than Orli....

jenn_calaelen:

Really? :( *sigh* He looks older - partly because it looks like he is
balding in the pictures (certainly not how I imagine elves!)

wiseheart:
Link? Linkety McLink? Please?

Me:
>
href="http://www.uproxx.com/gammasquad/2012/08/hobbit-lee-pace-thranduil/"
>
target="_blank">http://www.uproxx.com/gammasquad/2012/08/hobbit-lee-pace-thranduil/

wiseheart:

Oh, God! That was my worst nightmare become flesh! And the comments were
depressingly accurate.

wiseheart:
I liked Fíli and Kíli, they are cute. Although I don't udnerstand why PJ
thinks all his viewers are too dumb to tell two brothers from each other
when both are (canonically) blond!

In the favourite dragon thread I posted this comment:

I love dragons! If I have to choose just one to be my favourite, it would have to be the one from a children's picture book my mother would read me when I was little: There was a king who so loved cooking that he always meddled in the kitchen driving his chefs mad and making them quit. It got so bad that they had to hold a competition for a new castle chef; the person with the best and most original dish would win. This one boy, who couldn't cook at all, won by saying he wanted to make dragon soup. However, since there weren't any dragons to be had he couldn't make it. The boy got the job, but as before the king always came to the kitchen to partake in the cooking, and indeed did it all. The boy was happy with that and so was the king and the food was great. However, the king had his people scoring the lands for a dragon and one day they found one! It was brought back to the castle in a cage and the king asked to have this famous dragon soup. For once he completely withdrew from the kitchen and the boy was at his wit's end because he still didn't know how to cook. This is when the dragon spoke to him and told him that it could cook. So the dragon made a delicious soup which the king pronounced the best ever and then the boy revealed that the secret to dragon soup was that you needed a dragon to help you make it. and everyone lived happily ever after. And that is my favourite dragon: cooking and cleverness and kindness to dragons all woven together into one tale!

To which

jenn_calaelen replied:

That is a lovely story!

In response to someone I continued this thread with:

I wish I could remember what the book was called and/or who wrote it! Sadly I think it was a book we borrowed from the library so I won't be able to find out by going through my Mother's collection. Having thought of it now I really want to get a copy to give to my nephews.

to which

jenn_calaelen replied:

Good luck finding it! I know there are a few book search comms/websites - where you put a description and see if other people remember it. :)

and I replied to

jenn_calaelen to say:

I should probably start with asking my Mum if she can remember either what it was called or who wrote it. It is a problem I find with children's picture books that the ones you read/had read to you as a child may have made a great impression, but you were too young to realize you should memorize the author and book title for future reference... ;-)

to which she responded:

sounds like a plan.

wiseheart:
And then, when you do remember them, you realise that you've given them
away during the last big clean-out action and they aren't awailable
anywhere by now. Happened to me several times.

I think I missed this comment the first time around! I haven't actually had it happen that I have given a book away in a big clean-out and then gone looking for it; that is mostly due to me very rarely getting rid of any books at all. On the other hand I did throw away all of my undergraduate notes after finishing my Ph.D. and then within six months wishing I still had them!

Me:
> Aww :( I've done that too - I hate getting rid of books, but there are
> just too many to keep sometimes. (one of the advantages of ebooks -
> although those have other downsides....)

wiseheart:
Yes, that's why I'm considering getting an e-reader, but I must admit my
unwavering fondness for the Dead Tree variety.

Earlier in this thread, I think.

espresso_addict:
Oooh, dragons! My favourite dragon is probably Kalessin, but I adore
Smaug too. The dragons in the Miyazaki film of Earthsea were
pretty cool, though the film itself was painful.

espresso_addict's reply to a comment in a different thread:

> Thank you! :) Well, it's probably easier to make resolutions when there's
> only 3 months left of the year, eh? *g*

Their reply was:

Well, my main resolution was going to be to finish one of my ongoing
novels, which is probably easier to do in 12 months than 3. But I think I
might be a little bit less ambitious.

(I don't have the time to take out the line breaks caused by e-mail, I hope you don't mind.)

wiseheart:
Oh, WIPs! The bane of every author's existence! I'm still surprised that
I've managed to finish the first book of "Elvenhome", after picking it up
again on the end f a six-year-hiatus!

espresso_addict:
I've got five long things that are incomplete! Not to mention many more
short things I've started and abandoned. I suspect some of them are never
going to be done, but I'd really like to finish some of the others. Your
sterling success on 'Elvenhome' gives me hope!

wiseheart:
Good, then we won't mention the Glorfindel story that has been on hiatus
for oh, nine years or so. *whistles innocently*

espresso_addict:
I can't hear you, someone's whistling in my ear!

lhun_dweller answering to my reply re: getting older:

> Yes, we are, aren't we? But since the alternative would be to die young,
> I'm quite willing to accept the inevitable wrinkles and occasional aching
> joints. *g*

Their reply was:

[grabs a mug of ale and raises it]

I second that!

wiseheart:
*nodnod* Survival is the highest Nietzschean imperative.

lhun_dweller:

THE TOPIC IS BOOKS! I am sending you the Star Trek Preciousesssssss this
weekend... my interviewing schedule won't allow me to go to the Post
Office and arrive at my work office (one of my two offices) a tad later,
alas!

wiseheart:
Ah, that's all right! That way, I'll have longer to enjoy my reading of
them. (God, what have I done to English grammar again?)

lhun_dweller:

My dog, Mac, is joining the party. He is playing with his hollow, rubber
ball that has holes in the ends and largish bits of dog biscuit inside.
He is making many interesting sounds, which translate roughly as
follows...

GREEEEEEEEEN BALLLLLLLL! Biscuit must come out now! Yummy, crunchy peanut
butter biscuit... We wants it!!!! We wants it NOW!!!! Hey you! you with
the thumbs! Get my biscuit out NOW!!!!

From here, you can:

And here I remember having said something about thumbs being supremely well suited for getting biscuits. *shrugs* I don't get my own comments mailed to me.

wiseheart:
Your dog must have a refined taste. We made peanut/chocolate cookies with
he kids for last Christmas, they were absolutely delicious.

And yeah, having actual thumbs can be helpful when it comes to acquring
those biscuits. *g*

rcfinch:

Finch signing in. I think I'll wait with the cake until I feel I've
actually earned some. What kinds do you have?

I told her to take a look at the Cake Thread and choose.

Edited 2012-10-07 00:17 (UTC)

rcfinch:

> Hi Finch! *waves* Long time not seen. The cake offer is shown above, take
> your pick. Virtual sweets, no calories - a brilliant solution, isn't it?

Their reply was:

Ha, great! Very appetite-whetting, yet innocent. I'll probably allow
myself a slice when I'm done translating for today.

Me:
Be my guest! There's plenty for everyone. Send the girls over with their
> plates, too - I hope they are well.

rcfinch:
They're both doing fine. Valerie is doing her Masters year in Rotterdam,
media studies; Larissa is in her second year at Leiden University,
studying history (like her great uncle, who hangs on a wall in the
building where she has many of her classes). I'll greet them from you!

rcfinch:
BTW, I believe this was comment #100!

Stupid LJ! You are welcome to repost any comments I made. I back my LJ up on Dreamwidth at regular intervals as I'd hate to lose my entries and comments.

So do I! But LJ's black hole was faster.

Birthday ficlet

Nosy the alien fluff slunk silently through the Hub, peering around cautiously. It was the middle of the night, so the lights were low, filling the open space with shadows and making it really rather spooky, No one was around, which was just as well, considering what it was planning.

It knew it wasn’t supposed to touch the Hub computers, but it had watched Tosh often enough to learn how things were done, so it slunk up to the nearest work station and switched on the computer. It didn’t have hands, so it picked up a pencil in its mouth and used that to prod at the keys, calling up an internet search window and using it to locate the livejournal it wanted.

It paused for a moment, checking that it was still alone, then scrolled down the page to find the correct journal entry and clicked on the button to leave a comment.

Slowly and carefully, Nosy began typing. It took a while, because it didn’t want to make any mistakes, but finally Nosy was satisfied with it, and it clicked ‘Post’, humming happily to itself as the comment appeared on the screen:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,

wiseheart , MAY ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE!

Love from the Torchwood Team and Nosy the Fluff xxx

Then it closed down the window, turned off the computer and slunk back to bed, happy to have done its part in the attempt to reach 1,000 comments.

Yay! Nosy is back! Thank you!

Nosy is happy to be back! It didn't like all its hard work being deleted. Fluffs are hard to get rid of.

espresso_addict:
Alien fluff! Cute!

badly_knitted:
Thank you - it keeps taking over my brain! If I'd known when I invented
it that it would take on a life of its own... I still would have invented
it, I guess. The world needs more cute, fluffy aliens!

Thankyou, I have a fondness for cute, fluffy things!

wiseheart:
Oh, an alien fluff! Thanks, Nosy! I think we've met before, so it's
really nice of you to drop in. Come, have some cake!

(I wanted to use the Tosh icon, but LJ don't seem to let me at the
moment.)

badly_knitted:
Nosy wants to know if there's any coffee flavoured cake! It likes coffee
rather too much for its own good. It likes cake too, it's going to end up
being a very fat fluff, then it will have to roll everywhere instead of
slinking...

I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when Nosy slunk into my
brain and demanded to be allowed to wish you Happy Birthday, so I did as
I was told. Bossy alien fluff!

Lj is being a pain at the moment - half the time I don't get the icon I
select.

wiseheart:
Me neither. But tell Nosy that I'll organise some capuccino flavoured
cake just for him... her... it.

badly_knitted:
Nosy thanks you and happily munches cake.

It is an it, as it is neither male nor female as far as anyone can tell.
Nosy doesn't much care either way, it knows what it is and that's all
that matters!

Nosy thanks you and happily munches cake. Soon it will be a fat fluff and then it will have to roll everywhere instead of slinking...

That would make things easier, though. ;)

Going downstairs would be a bit bumpy and it would have to forget about going upstairs, lol!

Me:
> Funny and sweet fic! :)

badly_knitted:
Thanks - I invented Nosy a couple of years ago for a short Torchwood fic
and it sort of took over, there have been 5 sequels so far and it keeps
sneaking into other things, it's unstoppable! It's friendly though, so
that's okay!

I think I probably replied 'Thank you!' before, lol! It's hard to remember second time around!

Oh, how annoying! I'd saved up some comments I was planning to reply to when I had a moment, and they're all been listed as deleted! Argh!

Perhaps they'll be among the saved ones and you can still do so. I'm going in chronological order but probably won't do much more tonight.

I've responded briefly to what I could recall, but there was a third deleted comment, which I can't remember what it was.

I can't believe LJ has done this! I applaud your restraint. I'd be effing furious.

I'm too busy crying my little heart out at the moment. :(

Oh, Wiseheart! [Hugs]. But we all remember it going over 1000 comments, even if LJ is a [expletive deleted].

Thanks! *sniffles*

And I'll repost those 920 comments, and with the 80+ already up here we will be beyond 1000 again! It just angers me how much more fun we could have had, if I wouldn't have to waste the remaining 3 days with the reposting.

Could you just forget about reposting the early comments, for now at least, and restore only a few of the most active threads from the final page or two? We can all start new threads & get going again in the morning. After all, real-life parties don't tend to get recorded, except in memory.

Yes, but I keep all my virtual patries - they are very dear to me, and I won't have LJ eat the best days of my year. I might not be able to recreate everything, and most likely not by the day after tomorrow, but they *will* be back.

In the meantime, new threads are very welcome. :)

You can always restore them after the end of the party, if it gets in the way of more-enjoyable activities.

I've put in top level comments for both of the ones I could recall.

Thank you. That helps.

Re:

altariel & I discussing Bujold's Chalion series:

I've just purchased Curse of Chalion :) I'll try Paladin of Souls if I like it.

I haven't read the Ivan book. In fact I haven't read Cryoburn yet, largely because I've gathered a spoiler about the ending which I really don't want to happen. I gather from the hive mind that the Ivan book is designed to heter-oise Ivan & Byerley?

That reminds me, I'd been going to comment in this thread :)

I really like The Hallowed Hunt - it extends the worldbuilding in a really interesting direction, and the characters are great (but I know that I'm in a real minority on that one...)

I think you could read the Ivan book without having read Cryoburn, as it is set well before Cryoburn.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by heter-oise - especially as it seems to me that only fandom ever considered Ivan non heterosexual...

I think you could read the Ivan book without having read Cryoburn, as it is set well before Cryoburn.

Oh, I'll try the Ivan book, then, and just give Cryoburn a miss.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by heter-oise - especially as it seems to me that only fandom ever considered Ivan non heterosexual...

Ivan in the novels reads as heterosexual, yes, though I think one could argue his lack of interest in commitment to marriage could be due to closeted m/m orientation. Byerley reads to me as queer in the novels. (And rumour has it that By also gets paired off?) One of my problems with A Civil Campaign was the neat way in which everyone got paired off in m/f pairs, especially after all the gender fluidity with Donna/Dono.

Ivan in the novels reads as heterosexual, yes, though I think one could argue his lack of interest in commitment to marriage could be due to closeted m/m orientation. Byerley reads to me as queer in the novels. (And rumour has it that By also gets paired off?) One of my problems with A Civil Campaign was the neat way in which everyone got paired off in m/f pairs, especially after all the gender fluidity with Donna/Dono.
*nods* I can see the arguments about Ivan (although certainly his pov in ACC would imply at least very closeted...)

Yes, By gets paired off. But iirc it is fairly strongly implied that he is bisexual... he does end up in a relationship (not sure how far it is stated to be permanent) with a woman, there are also implications that it might not be monogamous...
But I might be remembering wrong as I read it once when the earc came out (and have intended to reread but not got that far yet) - and before I certainly read By as coming across as queer (I wasn't sure if it was how he really was or part of his personna...)

I could certainly buy By as bi :) Also, as you write, he could easily be performing queer, to draw attention to himself in ways that are harmless to his true career.

Re:

altariel's comments on Parade's End

Sounds very interesting -- I've just used up my budget for DVDs for ages, so I'll see if I can catch reruns on Beeb4.

And this was the "My Government Is Stupid"-thread:

How to make people's lives miserable?

You wanna know? Ask your government. Ours has just got the shiny idea of
> prohibiting the one-armed bandits (=slot machines) almost everywhere. The
> tax incomes they're losing that way (it's a two-digit number in billions,
> our currency is very weak) they compensate by raising the prices for all
> basic foodstuffs (meat and bakery products for starters) by 30 per cent.

> Good for small people, ain't it? *Tyr Anasazi actually applauds, as this
> move will certainly ensure the survival of the fittest.)

> So, how does your government make your life miserable?

To which

rcfinch replied:

How shall I count the ways... They're making me work almost two years
months more than I had to when I started working. They raised the VAT.
They raised the assurance taxes. They raised the amount we have to pay
for medicines before the health assurance kicks in from 220 to 350 euros
a year. They...

But no, I won't spoil the birthday party any further.

Me about misery loving company and mocking the stupid being cathartic.

wiseheart:
You don't. Misery loves company, and mocking the stupid is good for the
digestion.

rcfinch:

Well, right now they're concocting new plans to let the people pay for
the current crisis, so I may come up with more atrocities later on. The
funny thing is, it's the right wing liberals and the labour party working
together (!) to form a government, and so far they've managed to piss
almost everyone off.

wiseheart:
I think in these days it doesn't really count which side the government
comes from. My Grandpa - may he rest in peace - had awonderful saying for
this. He used to say: "My girl, remember: the shit is the same, only the
flies are different."

I only vote for the party I do vote for because I despise the other one
even more.

rcfinch:
Your grandfather was a wise man.

jenn_calaelen:

Ouch! That sounds nasty of them! :( Sadly it seems like all the
governments are being even worse than normal at the moment.

jenn_calaelen:

Governments :( Making people miserable seems to be what they are best at.

That seems a particularly nasty thing to do :(

Here they are trying to cut all spending and privatise the health service
- while trying to cut taxes for the rich :(

Me about our health system having floored completely and everyone paying the same percentage of taxes, including politicians and bankers.

wiseheart:
> I hear you, sister! Here they created a tax system where everybody
> has to pay the same percentage. Ministers and bankiers, who earn more in
> a month than I earn in three frigging years, pay 16 percent... and so do
> I and the people who earn even less than I do (although that's not an
> easy task).

> The health service has floored, our doctors flee abroad... we're closing
> up to what was once symbolically called the Balkan. One can say a lot
> about the old regime that wouldn't be compimentary, but at least back
> then we were the country with the best living conditions behind the Iron
> Curtain. Now we are tagging along with the rearguard at best.

rcfinch:
Bankers paying 16 % - that's gross.

Me:
> yuck! That is horrible, and very stupid of them! I really think things
> would be better if all politicians were paid is what they claim the rest
> of the people can live on (eg minimum wage/benefit levels) -- I predict
> those would quickly rise in that case.

wiseheart:
That has been suggested repeatedly - alas, never by people who could
actually have make it happen.

espresso_addict:

As Jenn writes, what the current government is doing to the national
health service is inexcusable. But what upsets me personally the most is
the way planning decisions (for building developments) have essentially
moved from local councils to central government. There are several
building developments up/down the road from us where the local
authorities repeatedly denied permission, only to have their decisions
overturned by the Secretary of State.

But hey, this isn't a great topic for a party! We need cheery topics!

Me about needing to rant and to share our misery.

wiseheart:
I dunno, I feel it refreshing to went a little from time to time and
orchestrate a great mutual condolence feast with friends. *g*

At which point

jenn_calaelen sent me virtual hugs.

Me: > because of course the central government knows best :( - after all local
> authorities might actually be considering local concerns

wiseheart:
Which, as we all know, would be a terrible, terrible thing. [/sarcasm]

Until last year, the district was the one dealing with school finances,
promotions and stuff. Now it's all become centralised. The result?
They've taken 3% of support from every single school, and we no longer
get our overtime paid.

Happy Birthday!

Thank you! :)

So, dear guests, I think I'll call it a day. Originally, I wanted to reach Page 2, but it's still 8 top-level comments away, and I'm close to fainting.

I've about 920 more saved comments in my inbox and perhaps two cake recipes saved on my laptop. So unless the original party posts miraculously reappears, I think we'll have lost one quarter of the comments, give or take a few.

I'm going to save this as a text file, just in case, as I can't access my Dreamwidth journal from here - my main PC is logged in to my writing journal. As for the rest - we'll see.

Good night!

Sleep well in your beautiful new bed!

Thanks. :)

*hugs*

I've have a look - I think I have loads of the comments in email, due to gmail's habit of not actually deleting things. I'll see what I can do to help :)

Thank you! I know it won't be quite the same, but my heart bleeds for our wonderful party, and it will be *almost* as it was.

I"ve sav ied what we have so far to DW, let's hope that the comments show up. DW has the tendency to import the entries at once, yet only later the comments... much, much later.

aviv_b said:

So I sent some other presents! Here's a cake and some presents just for
you!

(http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/897/149555)

(http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/897/4955)

(And I'm cheating, because this wasn't actually a separate thread, but I want to get to Page 2 today really badly!)

wiseheart:
Oooh, thanks! Is that a pterodactyl in that box?

aviv_b:
Its Myfanwy, Captain Jack and the alien bunnies coming to wish you happy
birthday. I'll be hiking in a remote area of Utah later this week so have
a wonderful birthday!!

wiseheart:
Ohohohoho, this is too funny! Thanks! *g*

I'd managed to miss this the first time around -- it is a great image!

Aaaaand the ersatz party has just hit the 100-comment-marker!

Stupid LJ! Could it have something do do with the huge number of comments?
Well, whatever, it won't stop us.

Many other posts have huge numbers of comments - it's simple malevolence. But no, it won't stop us!

Party pooper LJ!

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