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Party pooper LJ!
Well, 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.
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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.
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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.
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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...
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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 :)
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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.)
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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 :)
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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 ;) )
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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!
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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.
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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
wow - that sounds very cool! :)
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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
Me:
> That is a wonderful library! (although scary episodes...)
> (and this comment is claiming that it is blank for some reason....)
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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.
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> Definitely - Daleks and Cybermen aren't really that scary...
> I also find the Angels scary - especially after the last episode (....
> stopping as spoilers)
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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.]
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> 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 :(
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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.
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> 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...
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I agree the angels really disturb me.
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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.