Ha! I was right...

I've always talked about two of the movie changes in tandem, and about how they affected the Frodo/Gandalf relationship: Gandalf making Frodo decide between going through the Mines of Moria vs. The Gap of Rohan (yes, I know, there is no Gap in Rohan--not even a Banana Republic), and Frodo solving the riddle of the door to Moria rather than Gandalf. See Sir Ian's latest e-post for his opinion of this. We don't see it *exactly* the same way, but close enough, and he also sees the two changes as linked.

Read on for some goings-on at the Decipher fanclub boards. Geez! I really wish they'd get their act together on this and SO MANY other issues. San Diego ComicCon, for example. OK, I realize Dom wasn't confirmed, but even a hint from them sent out to the fanclub membership that there were some special activities planned for the LOTR fanclub would probably have been enough to get me out there. They do not think, they do not plan, and they react badly...

Rings-Thing

Are you buying both the August and November DVD (or VHS) releases of the film? If you are just buying one, which will it be and why? Is the content of the different versions (different cuts of the film, different extras, etc.) good marketing or corporate greed?

OK, are any of us that are geeky enough to 1) keep a weblog, and 2) participate in Rings-Thing NOT geeky enough to get both versions of the DVD? Exempting anyone who simply cannot afford it, of course. I THINK not.

I VERY briefly debated about just holding out for the Collector's Edition, and making do with either the VCD or watching other people's copies or renting until November. Uh uh. Heck, we're having a party to celebrate the release of the DVD in a couple of weeks--gotta have it, don't I? Second theory was that I'd try to resell my original DVD once the November release came out, but how likely was THAT? Yeah, snowball's chance.

Is it corporate greed? Somehow it doesn't really feel like it, entirely. We do know that some of it is PJ's perfectionism. I mean, they had to refund some initial orders for the August release because the fanclub members names aren't on it because the SPECIAL MUSIC wasn't ready in time? Huh? That's just TOO PJ. So now I don't get to see my name until NOVEMBER, darn it! But at least I won't have to sit through all that scrolling--sometimes being in the first 10% of the alphabet is a GOOD thing. Some of the variations are just trying to offer something for everyone--I mean, even most of us real geeks aren't buying ALL the possible combinations.

I think the most likely explanation is, August is *already* a long time to wait for the DVD release. Let's get something out now for the general public, and the less geeky (and the *truly* geeky who get everything). The real fans will wait for the full release. I'm actually rather glad they've made the "extras" a bit different, since it helps justify something I was already going to do...

PromoGuy's Monday Mission 2.30

1. What is your favorite snack food? Does anyone you know have weird tastes in snacks?
My favorite snacks are cheese (nearly any kind) and Pepsi or Mountain Dew. What's weird taste?

2. Ever caught yourself saying "well it can't get any worse" and it does? What's the story there?
As Roseanne Rosannadanna would say: It just goes to show ya, it's always somethin.

3. I have a super-short attention span, and it always was my downfall in school, especially math class. What's your attention span like and how has it served you?
I used to have a great attention span. As I get older, I find my patience (like the fellowship's list of allies) grows *thin*.

4. Do you believe in the existence of extra-terrestrials?
I find it difficult to believe that they *cannot* exist. Not so sure I'm as rabid a believer was I was in my youth. I think it was "Dark Skies" letting me in on the fact that aliens were behind the JFK assassination that made me a bit cynical. (Remember your George Carlin: several cats were seen in the immediate vicinity of the grassy knoll.)

5. What do you think of the whole "crop circles" phenomenon?
I think it was hobbits. Maybe invisible hobbits. Or time-travelling hobbits. But it seems hobbit-like to me.

6. Ever had a time where you begin visiting with someone you don't know all that well and just find you "click" like long lost pals? Tell me about how that came to happen, and who was it? What kind of things do you have in common?
Most recently it was Cody, who I had never met in person (just via our blogs, and only fairly recently at that) until I went out to San Francisco Pride. We like a whole lot of the same things, we know and/or read several of the same people, we've been in several of the same fandoms, and it even seems like half the time I run a search for something on ebay, I come up with one of her items!

7. When I was at the cemetery a few weeks ago, I began to recall my Dad's funeral so many years ago. It is so vivid, sitting there in the family room as his friends passed by and paid their respects, the music, his face, the tears. What funeral do you remember most vividly?
I tend not to do ceremonies of any sort--graduations, christenings, weddings or funerals. The two deaths I remember most clearly, having followed everything on TV, are JFK and Princess Diana.

BONUS: How can I forget you, girl?
Take a letter, Maria.

Swiped from Dargie, who got it from Shirene, who got it from...

10 bands you've seen live:
* Erasure
* Duran Duran (only *with* JT)
* Power Station (both versions, Palmer and Des Barres)
* Eagles (in 1975)
* Genesis
* Grass Roots
* Jon Bon Jovi
* Midge Ure
* Lyle Lovett and His Very Large Band
* kd lang and the Reclines
* Dead or Alive

9 Things you're looking forward to:
* "Lord of the Rings" on DVD
* Our DVD release party for LOTR
* Opening of "The Two Towers" in December
* Sir Ian doing another play on Broadway (I hope!)
* "Equilibrium" finally being released
* "Ash Wednesday" finally being released
* My next trip to NYC
* The end of the baseball season
* Putting together my new desk & installing new computer on it

8 things you wear every day:
* One Ring on silver chain
* Timex watch
* sterling ring
* my glasses
* purse or backpack
* shoes or sandals
* underwear
* barrettes, scrunchies, or some type of hair "thing"

7 things that annoy you:
* Public transportation that is wildly off schedule (not just a little late)
* People that throw their garbage in the street (or sidewalk, or el stop)
* Children to whom discipline and/or self-control are obviously foreign concepts
* Clipping of fingernails on public transportation
* Spraying of perfume or hairspray in places where one cannot avoid being inundated by it
* People who *claim* they mean one thing when their words/actions clearly indicate otherwise
* When the internet suddenly, for no apparent reason, turns into molasses (Billy cancelled it again?)

6 Things you touch daily:
* My cat
* My alarm clock
* All the things I wear (see above)
* My CTA pass
* The doors to my apartment and my office
* My computers at home and at work

5 things you do every day:
* Shower
* Dress
* Drink lots of soft drinks
* Put down food and water for the cat
* Clean the litterbox

4 people you spend the most time with:
* Toni and Akilah (I supervise them at work)
* Dargie (via IM, at least)
* Daphne (again, mostly via IM) cowebmaster of one of my sites
* My mother (although not as much now that she's quit her job at Wrigley)

3 movies you could watch again and again:
* Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
* Wuthering Heights (Timothy Dalton version)
* The Moon Spinners (Hayley Mills, Peter McEnery)

2 favourite songs of the moment:
* "My Fallen Angel" Midge Ure
* "Breathe" Midge Ure

1 person you could spend the rest of your life with:
* Fantasy or reality? I suspect I could be endlessly fascinated with the bloke at the top right. Live with, though? Who knows...

I Love the Internet...

Just finished placing an order with HMV UK for the first two seasons of Robin of Sherwood and the first two episodes of The Champions. Yes, I am a happy girl with a multi-region DVD player. Next up will be The Professionals, the Ioan Gruffudd version of The Forsyte Saga and... Why the heck isn't Blake's 7 on DVD, anyway? I have already ordered Chain of Fools from HMV Australia and that should arrive any day now. Not getting rid of the VCD, though, since that's fun to watch on the laptop.

Honk if you're surprised...

What Kind of Frodo Are You?

This quiz created by Trianne

Woo hoo! I'm Elrond *again*

I am Elrond, Lord of Rivendell. I chose Elvenkind over Humanity and was gifted with great wisdom. During the War of the Ring, I called a Council of the free peoples of Middle Earth and founded the Fellowship of the Ring, all the time wearing a tiara. In the movie, I'm played by Hugo Weaving.
|| Which Lord of the Rings Elf are you? @ X.com ||

Your magical style is Faery.

What type of Magic do you work?. Take the Magical Style Quiz by Paradox

The Friday Five

Last week I made the first 100 (for the first time), but I knew that couldn't last...

1. How long have you had a weblog? I *think* I got my first one about a year ago. I had purchased a PDA that runs on Windows CE, and couldn't get an FTP program to run correctly on it. Having to e-mail my reports to someone else to post was a real pain, then I read in the Lockergnome newsletter about Blogger, and it was just what I needed. I started my first blog for my figure skating websites, so that I could report on competitions without having to take the full laptop with me. I haven't used that particular blog in some time, and now post pretty much exclusively to this one.

2. What was your first post about? A figure skating competition--can't remember which any more. My first one in this blog (and nearly every one since) has been about The Lord of the Rings.

3. How many changes (name, location, etc.) of your weblog have there been, if more than one? For any particular blog, none. Both still reside where they were originally set up, and I have yet to come up with a snappy name for either.

4. What CMS (content management system) do you use? Do you like it or do you want to try something else? I use Blogger Pro, with an occasional assist by w.bloggar (which lets me handle some updates from my desktop rather than the Blogger website). I'm quite happy with it. I'd love to go to Greymatter or Moveable Type for the increased flexibility, but I know my own limitations, and just doing a new template for THIS blog pretty much overtaxed my geekness. I am thinking of adding a LiveJournal, not because I prefer it (I definitely don't, and I find *way* too many teenies there) but so that I can exchange links and comments with other LJ folk.

5. Do you read people who have both a journal and a weblog? Or do you prefer to read people who have all of their writing in one central place? I don't know a lot of people who have both. But I'm lazy, so I suspect I'd not remember to read both, if they had them.

More photos added to the calendar page

I've been in a scanning frenzy

I got my new Cedco Page-A-Day Calendar earlier this week, and yesterday I saw that it had hit the retail stores as well. There were quite a few photos in it that I hadn't seen before at all, and several more that were variations on the more familiar ones, so I thought I'd get them scanned and online, both for people who just wanted to look, and for those who might be considering it but wanted a better idea of what they were buying. I put the majority of the more interesting ones up last night, but I'll probably add more.

Quite a few new ones of Aragorn and Legolas and Gandalf, while not *quite* as many of Frodo, although I love the one at left. It was also interesting to see that the ones of Frodo in the tree, which I assumed had been from a different opening (instead of him reading sitting under a tree) were instead excised from the flight to Bree.

Woo Hoo!

Guess who is going to be on the cover of the upcoming issue of Empire??!!

I am *so* recommending Tolkientown

I put an order in with them about 10 days or so ago, for the trade-size movie cover paperback book set of Lord of the Rings, a hobbit magnet, the new page-a-day calendar, and a Sting keychain. Good prices on everything, and a lot of stuff I couldn't find locally.

So, when I go to the post office yesterday, my order is there. But instead of the 3-volume trade-size paperbacks, I have the 4-volume mass market ones. I go back to the office and check my order, but I had indeed ordered the correct set. However, it's rather hard to prove since the item numbers that appear on the shipping list don't appear on my online order, nor on the items themselves on the site. So I sent an e-mail to their customer service department, and hope they believe me.

Today I received a reply: they are sending me the correct set, along with a label to return the incorrect set at their expense. What more could one ask? After all, as we're so often told (and for once, it's true): the mark of a person or a company is NOT that it never make a mistake--it's how it deals with the mistakes it makes. I'm rating Tolkientown a 10 out of 10.

I finally watched "The Prophecy"...

after having had the VCD for several weeks. It's been way too hot to venture out of my bedroom (the one room cooled by my small window air-conditioning unit), and watching TV or VCR has been impossible. So when I ended up spending the evening in bed with a migraine, it finally occurred to me that I could drag my laptop into the bedroom and watch a VCD on it (my desktop computer is Win95 and doesn't support the DivX program).

As everyone had warned me, what a great movie! It was perfect for a semi-invalid--engrossing enough to take my mind off my ailment, but not so convoluted that I couldn't follow it with a fever. Everyone was perfectly cast, with the possible exception of Virginia Madsen (whose part was so simplistic that nearly anyone could have played it): Christopher Walken as the angel Gabriel, who has a score to settle with humanity; Eric Stoltz as angel Simon, not unsympathetic to Gabriel's quarrel but now having only his duty to his god to sustain him; Elias Koteas as Thomas Daggett, once nearly a priest and now a cop who must both find his faith again and stop Gabriel from destroying more souls; and most especially Viggo Mortensen as Lucifer--the coolest, baddest, most beautiful angel of all.

These could all have been stereotypes in the hands of lesser actors, but they're not. Christopher Walken, who is capable of both understatement and the most incredibly OTT acting, delivers a performance that absolutely walks the line it must in being larger-than-life (he *is* an angel, and a powerful one--not some human villain) but not cartoonish. Eric Stoltz is heroic and tragic and loyal, and imbues the character with so much sympathy for all sides of the struggle that you can feel his pain in even the briefest of scenes. Elias Koteas has a role that's been done to death--he was literally about to be anointed a priest when he left the church (literally, and possibly figuratively as well) and he's now a worldly-wise cop who has to solve the case of several strange deaths that seem to be mysteriously linked to him. Viggo has the least time on-screen of any of them, and makes the greatest impact as Lucifer, truly the son of the morning in his beauty and charm. He shows us how he is far greater than the angel Gabriel, and has no quarrel with humanity, but in fact *needs* humanity. Easy to see why he was most beloved...

Today it's finally cooler and I can go into the living room tonight--I think I'll take the opportunity to watch "The Prophecy" on the DVD player instead of the barely-adequate old laptop screen!

thanks to Dargie -- Two For Tuesday

OK, so I'm doing it on Wednesday. Sue me.

1. What sound do you love to hear and why?
Water, almost any kind (except the annoying faucet-dripping that I can't get to stop in my kitchen sink). I have one of those noise-making machines I keep next to the bed, and it's almost always set at either "rain" or "surf." When I go to the beach (OK, it's been a couple of years--when I **used** to go to the beach), while I occasionally take my Walkman, I almost invariable end up going out as far as I can on the most remote pier in my area, as distant from the sound of screaming children as it's possible to get in Rogers Park (I don't mind the screaming seagulls I get instead) and turning off the tape in favor of the sound of the waves breaking. Why do I love this sound? I have no idea. Always have. Cannot bear the thought of living very far from the water.

Second favorite sound is the sound of the blades of a very good figure skater, moving very fast. Like when ice dancers are warming up before practice (just before you hear the crash...) The love of this sound is much easier to track--about a 14-year history of being a major figure skating fan, and I'm never happier than when I'm sitting at a practice at a major event.

2. Is there a smell that you find particularly unpleasant? Why?
My sink always smells mildewy, which I don't much like (but then, who does?). I can't think of any particularly idiosyncratic smell preferences I have...

Rings-Thing

What do you think of "Mary Sue" type fanfiction? Is it possible to write a good one, theoretically? Have you ever *read* a good one? Have you ever written one (good or bad)? What do you think about original characters in general?

You know, I've never been terribly conflicted about Mary Sue's. Don't read them, don't write them, don't condone them. Not that I don't *understand* them, mind you. I have fantasies myself, including ones in which I interact with the characters (or the actors). But I try to keep these in my head, or occasionally share them with my friends as the daydreams or fantasies they are--I don't write them up as fanfic to share with a wider audience. And I don't appreciate it when other people *do*. The closest I've come to a "Mary Sue" myself was a piece of fanfic in which I very strongly identified with one of my two protagonists--but I don't believe I changed the character because of that, or that my writing suffered. In fact, it's the best work I've ever done. I think identifying with a canon character can be a valid way of "putting oneself into the story" if handled correctly. Of course, if the reader doesn't see the character the way you do, you may still be charged with turning him or her into a Mary Sue. (But then, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it.)

When I read fan fiction, it's almost always to see authors explore the characters I love (or even sometimes those I don't), in situations or relationships that either didn't exist in the canon, or weren't developed, or were handled (as defined by fans) "badly." In general, I'm not interested in original characters, even if they help flesh out a side of a canon character that might not have been developed any other way. I know that's a flaw in my nature, and I totally understand it when people tell me that's what their OC is for, and I generally *believe* most of them when they tell me that. But I'm just not usually interested (OK, if I love your writing otherwise, I might give it a chance. Briefly.). I don't go to concerts to hear the audience sing, and I don't read fanfic to learn about characters *other* than canon ones.

So, can a Mary Sue fanfic be good? I suppose theoretically, anything is possible. But I haven't seen one. Even the funny ones are all takes on the same old joke, and that was old (for me) 25 years ago. Can a fanfic with an OC be good? Of course. I just (generally) choose not to read them -- and that's MY problem and not the author's.

Oh god....

Dargie sent me here. I'm still laughing, and since I'm also trying to get over a migraine, chuckling uncontrollably isn't a good idea. http://www.tomatonation.com/crazyheat.asp

And if you liked that one, take this quiz. Really. GOD, I can so relate--if I didn't know she lived in NY, I'd swear we shopped at the same grocery store (and I *know* we go to the same PO).

Quick, someone tell Kelly and Jack (and Hannah and Lij)

Who's your daddy?? Find out @ blackhole

PromoGuy's Monday Mission 2.29

1. Do you remember your first encounter with computers? Tell me about that.
As a teenager, an aptitude test said I'd be good with computers. Since I didn't see my first computer for about 12 years after that, that particular career suggestion didn't go far.

When I first started at my current job (23 years ago), we had recently computerized--sort of. The larger organization of which we were an affiliate had a computer system. We had to write out all our information in a specific format so that their data entry people could add it to the system. We could view the records directly, but not change them. What a royal pain.

Not TOO long after that (maybe a year?) we did finally computerize our own offices, and I was one of the first handful to get a computer. I've tried to maintain that lead ever since...

2. How late can you stay up and still be functional the next day? Do you do that very often?
This is an ongoing experiment. It used to be that 6-7 hours were standard for me, and 5 hours was the absolute minimum that I couldn't do too often and still function. As my life gets more hectic, and especially on days when I work both jobs or have a lot of website work to do, 4-5 hours becomes the most frequent amount of sleep I get (more than half the time). Then about every two weeks or so, *if* I get an actual day off (sometimes it's 3 weeks), I die for about 10 hours.

3. When was the last really good hug you got from another adult? Who was it and what was the situation?
Not sure how to define "really good hug." I'm not a very physical person.

4. One thing about children is that they all like to draw. We all shared the same ability and skill level at one time. Do you still like to draw? (Not do you think you draw well, or do others, but do you like to?) If not, how come? Did you get discouraged at some point?
Can't draw. Never could. I don't ever remember particularly liking to draw, although I did enjoy coloring and finger painting as a child. I always preferred to use the other side of my brain and write (or better yet, read). Lately I've integrated a bit more, and I enjoy making web graphics, doing photography, and making "artwork" out of photographic images.

5. I way overslept today. I had to head to work with no shower (don't get too close), and I am not in the best of moods. Have you ever overslept on a day you had something important going on? What's the story there?
Unfortunately, it happens to me more and more as I get less and less sleep. Because of my seniority and my good staff, I get away with it far more often than I should. My biggest problem is that I won't compromise to try to make it to work on time--no way I'll go in unshowered or with my hair unwashed. If it's really urgent, I might opt for a cab rather than the bus, although in Chicago traffic that doesn't always mean I'll get there any faster.

6. Ever go shopping for something you know you can't afford? You look at it and even think about how it will look when you get it home, somehow you justify the cost and believe it can happen? And just before you get to the counter come to your senses? What was the last thing you almost bought, but thought better of it? And why the heck do we do that to ourselves?
I was never an impulsive sort of person, but I've been making up for that in the last decade or so by making almost *all* of my decisions impulsively. The latest was (is?) a trip to San Diego in less than two weeks, which there is no way I can afford and which I hope I will be able to resist taking. The biggest problem is, I've been really happy with a lot of my impulse trips and purchases!

7. (It begins again...) It's all such a blur now. I'd asked you to help me wake up but the alarm didn't go off. It was 10 till and just I knew I'd be late. Somehow you got me here on time. How did you do that?
Not a clue, since it never works for me.

BONUS: Can't you see, you belong to me?
One of the scariest stalker songs of all time, pure genius lyric and music by Sting. Too bad more than half the population doesn't get it.

I have nothing in particular to say today

I can't believe I'm thinking about going to San Diego ComiCon. It appears that if I don't go until Friday morning (I was looking at Thursday night), it's less than half the price... Blast it, Decipher is *always* so late in notifying us about this stuff. But they're saying special fanclub privileges....

Anybody got a room? Or a membership?

Friday Five is back

1. Where were you born?
Well, we *lived* in Spring Valley, Illinois, but I was born in a neighboring town. Damned if I can remember whether it was Peru or LaSalle. And no, you probably don't know where any of that is.

2. If you still live there, where would you rather move to? If you don't live there, do you want to move back? Why or why not?
I moved away when I was 18, and I would never want to go back. Small and provincial doesn't begin to say it. Small towns are not, for the most part, "quaint." Mine, at least, was narrow-minded, had a high level of unemployment and intolerance, and absolutely nothing to do outside of getting drunk and driving around aimlessly.

3. Where in the world do you feel the safest?
I can't say I feel particularly safe anywhere, and certainly not in my neighborhood. I have to say, when I was in San Francisco last month during Pride, I felt pretty safe in a part of town that I would not normally feel safe in.

4. Do you feel you are well-traveled?
No, not particularly. I've travelled a fair amount, but usually for some reason outside of the travel itself (such as for conventions or figure skating championships). So, I *have* been exposed to quite a few other cultures and in THAT respect I'm fairly well-travelled, but I sure don't feel like a world traveler as I would use the term.

5. Where is the most interesting place you've been?
Define interesting. Probably New York City, which is still my favorite place in the world. London is a close second. Helsinki was one of the oddest, as it was least like what I was used to (and I couldn't pronounce ANYTHING except "kiitos" (thank you).

I'd love to sponsor someone in Blogathon!!!

Sex! Er, I mean, Orcs!

- Which Legolas are You? -

I just can't leave well enough alone, can I? Get the template where I like it, so I have to tinker with it *again*. I'm trying to add photos to the right margin and show a bit more of the background texture. If you hate it, and can let me know gently (please don't make me cry...), please do! It may look a little weird in the interim, since w.bloggar is having problems with my blogger pro coding, apparently. But smart as it is, it seems to have righted itself (fingers crossed). Now if I could just get the text size back to normal!

OK, I've managed to make more of the background texture show, but it's messed up the relative size of the table so that it runs off the page a little on 15" monitors. Is that annoying to people?

Woo hoo! Let's go to Vancouver...

Sue tells me that Peter Wingfield is playing one of Magneto's minions in the new X-Men movie that is currently filming in Vancouver. Wow, Serena *and* Methos... Can anyone spell "road trip"? I thought you could!

In other news, Christian Bale was a *hoot* last night on Craig Kilborn. I wonder if he realizes that some people actually try to be on their best behavior on publicity tours... I wonder what he'll do on Carson Daly?

I *finally* have the Dead or Alive photos posted (from Pride)

Which Ian McKellen are you?

Brought to you by the stunningly cool Always Ian.

Rings-Thing for Tuesday, July 16

You occasionally hear the charge that FOTR is, in essense, "an action movie" dressed up in Middle Earth garb, and lost the epic scope of the books. There is also the opposite charge: that there isn't enough action in the film, that people got a bit restless in parts. *Any* truth to either?

My first thought, on about 4 hours sleep, is to say that there is a lot more action in the fanfic than in the movie, but I guess that's not what is being talked about here...

I do understand the quibbles, although I think the fact that both camps have an argument shows that PJ did his best to try to serve both the fans of the books and those who had never read them. In trying to condense a work of that scale for the screen, and into a movie whose length won't scare TOO many people away, a lot has to be sacrificed. There were some things cut that I absolutely do not miss, especially the Sackville-Bagginses and all that long beginning in Hobbiton. Lots of explication there, lots of backstory, lots of talking. But some action scenes got cut as well, such as the entire sequence with the barrow wights. I would *not* have wanted to be the one making these decisions.

Watching the movie for the last 4 times (27-30) at the Brew and View really brought home to me how much a general audience likes the action scenes--Aragorn saving the Hobbits at Weathertop, the cave troll sequence, and most especially the fight between Aragorn and Lurtz. And you know what? Most of the rest of us love those scenes, too. I can't even begin to guess how many times I turned to the person next to me (or she turned to me) to say "I love this shot!" either when we get that silhouette of Aragorn from Frodo's POV, fighting off the ringwraiths on Weathertop, or when he "lets Frodo go" and turns to face the Uruk-Hai. Those are both great images, and two of my favorite ones in the movie. The action in this movie *mostly* advances the story--it's not inserted willy-nilly to break up long stretches of narration.

So, while I could probably go on at more length (and probably would have if I wasn't so tired!), I have to say that while there is *some* truth to both charges, it only means that PJ has probably done the best possible job in balancing the action with the slower, more thoughtful passages, and in trying to keep faith with the fans while making the movie accessible to people who didn't read the books.

PromoGuy.net Presents: Monday Mission 2.28

1. Have you ever sold anything through an online auction? What did you sell and did you make very much?
So far, I haven't. Tried to sell one ice show ticket I couldn't use, but got no takers. However, I intend to start selling on ebay in the very near (as in immediate) future. Or at least *trying* to sell

2. Have you ever bought anything through an online auction? How was your experience?
ALL the time. Very nearly literally. There was a time, about a year ago, when I practically lived on ebay. Now, between the doll stuff and the LOTR stuff and a few other miscellaneous things, I'm still there pretty often. I think my latest count was 275 transactions. With the exception of ONE seller who took my money and didn't deliver, one seller who got payment, shipped the item, and THEN forgot all about both and gave me my ONLY piece of bad feedback, and two sellers who I thought seriously misrepresented their items, I've had no serious problems. Couple of items that I didn't insure got lost in the mail, but since these were during the same week, I tend to believe it was my PO and not the sellers. For the most part, the sellers have been from good to great, and I don't think 4 questionable transactions out of 275 is a bad average.

3. Do you like the sun? Getting a suntan? Have you ever had a bad sunburn?
I don't much like being in the sun when that's not the ONLY thing I'm doing--i.e., I like to lay out near the beach on one of the piers in Rogers Park (if there's a breeze and I can find a decent spot) and just read or listen to music, or just vegetate. I don't like working in the sun (one of the reasons I happily accepted a permanent move at Wrigley from the terrace to the gate) and I don't generally like just being in it. Sometimes I surprise myself by not minding, as I didn't at the SF Pride Parade--and I managed to burn my arms pretty well (not seriously, though). Luckily for me, my Arab blood usually means I don't burn easily, and even when I do burn, it's not severe and turns to tan pretty rapidly. I didn't used to burn at all, until I got to the point where between the two jobs I didn't get a single day at the beach all summer.

4. Are you a vegetarian? Why? If not, have you ever considered it?
Nope. I was a nonstrict vegetarian for a few years between stints in college (i.e., if I was at someone's house and they served meat, I would eat it, but I never cooked it for myself). I felt pretty healthy during that time, and was rather pleased with myself. But mostly, I like the taste of meat, and there are enough other problems in the world that I don't think my abstaining from meat because of the way food animals are treated is really worth the effort.

5. Suppose you are getting into your car after you've just made your purchase from a store you visit twice a week. You suddenly realize you had a .35¢ item in your hand and you forgot to pay for it. What would you do next? (what *would* you do, not what *should* you do)
Well, I wouldn't be getting into my car since I haven't driven in about 25 years. But aside from that, if I had *just* left the store that I frequent, I would most likely go back in and give them the money. If I'm there that often, I must like them and would certainly not wanting someone there thinking I was a thief. If I had gotten to the el or bus before I noticed, I would probably make a mental note to give them the money next time, but odds are good that I wouldn't remember to do it.

6. Sometimes it seems that there is just not enough time to do everything that must be done. Was there anything you wanted to accomplish this weekend that didn't get done?
Well, since I worked this weekend, almost nothing got done. I'd like to have finished editing the Pride photos, got the most necessary grocery items (especially litter), and I wish I'd gotten laundry done. Those are the biggies. LOTS of other stuff.

7. What is your favorite game to play with a group and/or an individual? (board game, computer game, athletic, etc.)
I'm not sure I have one anymore. There was a time it was RISK, and a time after that it was Trivial Pursuit. I'm not together often enough with a group to have one these days.

BONUS: One headline why believe it ?I don't know what this means!

Borrowed from Dargie, who got it from Daisy Gamgee

What's the first fandom you wrote fic for? - The first thing I wrote for publication was in Blake's 7. I had played around with some Doctor Who stories that I didn't finish or publish.

What's the most recent fandom that you've written fic for? - I'm writing (not completed) in Lord of the Rings.

What's the title of your first fanfic? - rats, I can't remember. Something with "Phoenix" in it. Shattered Phoenix, maybe?

Does it suck beyond the telling of it? - Nope. Parts of it are very good, in fact. Mostly the parts I can't remember writing...

Is it slash or het? - Het

What was your first 'ship? - Bodie/Doyle or Avon/Vila.

What's your fave 'ship now? - Frodo/Aragorn

What 'ship makes your eyes bleed and your loins turn into monkey guts? - Huh?

What is your most common fic pairing? - To write, you mean? That would have to be het at this point, Servalan/Tarrant.

What pairing did you swear that you'd never write, but eventually did? - any RPS

What pairing do you swear you will never, ever write, even if your favorite character promised to make sweet love to you in their crypt/hotel/van/haunted apartment/prison cell/flat if you did? - Anything featuring a character played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

What's the wackiest fanfic situation you've put the characters in? - I'm not much into wacky. I suppose a rather unexpected 3-way that is still in wip stage, which *might* feature a hotel suite with the parties in the bedroom being unaware of what is going on in the common area, and vice versa.

What pairing do you hate to admit to actually indulging in, against your better judgment? - A whole bunch of RPS, which I have always been categorically opposed to.

Can you remember the first fanfic you ever read? - Nope.

How long have you been involved in internet fandom(s)? - How long have I been on the internet? Maybe 4 years?

Ever written a cross over? - Not so far

Best crossover fic you've read? - The "Chosen Men" series

What pairing do you want to write, but don't think you could? - Frodo/Aragorn

I can't say this sounds much like me...

What Was Your PastLife?

I like this one better!



Take the Purrsonality Quiz!

San Francisco Pride 2002 - Main Stage photos are up, with the exception of "Dead or Alive." I won't be home in time to do those tonight, so look for them Tuesday night.

Reign of Fire - what can I say? Christian looked (and was) great. And I don't mind a little suspension of disbelief. But the screenplay for this movie was just too sloppy. Was it worth seeing? Yes. But I'm sorry I paid full price for it. Should you see it now or wait for TV? If you want to see it at all, go to the theatre and see the effects on the big screen.

Yet more Sir Ian

The parade photos are all up now. Only still need to finish editing the Main Stage ones so I can get *them* posted too. For a little preview of what's coming up, click here.

Might not get done Sunday night--I have to work all day then I'm going to see Christian Bale in "Reign of Fire." And Monday I am actually spending my hard-earned money to GO to a game (yeah, Braves). So look for it around Tuesday.

**sigh**

Got another page of Pride up tonight. Only the non-Ian parts of the parade yet to do, and they're mostly edited already. I can't *believe* how many photos I took--I doubt I'll end up using more than 25% of them on the site.

You're Charlie "Trip" Tucker. You stay down to earth no matter how far away from it you travel. You have a charm that always works to your advantage. When it comes to your friends, you're fiercely loyal almost to a fault. No matter what the situation, you've got the best lines out of anyone on Enterprise. Take the Enterprise Quiz! Brought to you by redanubis.

hmmm, this isn't what the *last* one said, but I'll buy it...

How Gay Are YOU? [?]

Not very well written. The part about me liking girls, OK--but it didn't ASK about guys, so what's the deal?

Must join I.C.A.R.U.S.: Individuals Campaigning Against Rampant Unchecked Stupidity

Don't go to Blogatelle if you're short on time...

Damn, if only I either liked tea, or liked about liking it, I'd have had a better score!!!
I am 77.5% British, just like
Michael Caine
Though you know your way around London you are most likely to retire to the West Coast of the USA.

Take the Brit Quiz at
www.darrenlondon.tripod.com/britquiz1.htm
Quiz written by Daz



You are Harley Barbie! You don't associate with "sophisticate" barbie and never "nsync #1 fan" barbie, but you know who your friends are and you do what you want. Plus, you have a kick ass motorcycle.

Crap, this was working when I did it earlier! if it's still down, I'm Ziggy!!!

Which David Bowie are you?

Elrond If I were a character in The Lord of the Rings, I would be Elrond, Elf, ruler of Rivendell and father of Arwen. In the movie, I am played by Hugo Weaving. Who would you be? Zovakware Lord of the Rings Test with Perseus Web Survey Software

I'm infected

Human virus scanner

My report:
The virus that have infected you will be show here along with thier cures, if known.

Viruses you suffer from:

USA
Rule, Britannia! Britannia rule the waves! [repeat]

Junkfood
Eat some real food. Something which you can identify the source of every ingredient, not the point of manufacture.

Sci-fi
Stop wearing the stick-on ears.

Religion
Read "God's Debris" by Scott Adams (yes, the Dilbert guy)

Politics
Stop caring!

Hippyism
Free love is passe and potentially dangerous, and patchouli smells like cat piss.

Conspiracy Theory
Face it, the elected government is in control. Actually that's quite scary.

Environmentalism
Consume more stuff! It's easier to buy new stuff than to recycle.

Viruses you might suffer from:

Linux (80%)
Install the latest version of Microsoft Windows. Learn to love it.

Industrial (70%)
Everyone likes folk. No, really. Maybe you should listen to the Incredible String Band.

British (85%)
No need for cure. Benign virus.

Brand Names (75%)
Having a well-known name doesn't make it good.

Computer Games (60%)
Stop staring at the screen and get some fresh air. You should see a doctor about the RSI in your thumbs.

Macintosh (60%)
Use a mouse with more than one button.

Cute... I don't like cute

Except when I do. Rate my kitten.

See especially this one. I wonder what the shelf life is?

Boy, was I the final straw that killed the images on Tripod? Too bad. I liked having Tim Curry in my blog.

I was sure I would get Richard O'Brien

Who’s YOUR Rocky Horror Alter-Ego?

Find out now! Only from the Quiz Junkie

OK, I've got two Pride pages going up tonight, one for the March and one for Sir Ian (parade and main stage, brunch to follow). All of the templates are up, but the photos for most of them aren't edited yet, let alone uploaded.

Oh My God!

OK, so Dianne tells me that Sir Ian answered my last letter on his website. I guess that's cool, except he told me (3 weeks after the fact) that he was doing the two concerts in San Francisco that I skipped because I didn't know he was doing them (and I was tired). OK, just before I can slit my wrists (he read *Sir Thomas More*, for pete's sake), I see this photo of Sir Ian on stage. Guess who that fool in the very front is, just behind the fence, white t-shirt (that's my McKellen.com Wizard shirt) and khaki LOTR baseball cap, taking a photo?

I just couldn't wait to put this one up

I took down the rest of the original Pride photos since I am about 60% through editing them and should have them all reposted (and many more besides) by Sunday night. I am trying not to put up too many that are similar to each other, but if you have (say...) a page for Sir Ian and want a photo or two, I *do* have some that aren't posted.

what's your inner flower?

[c] s u g a r d e w

I just HAVE to stop reading the "fun" section of Gretchen's blog.

Play online battleship

If that's too hard for you, try Scrollbar Racing.

If you like the *very cerebral* old "pants" game (a la, "Gondor has no pants. Gondor *needs* no pants!) try Without WHOSE Pants?

OK, and is this really true?
Did you know that bread is delivered fresh to the stores five days a week?
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Each day has a different color twist tie. They are:
Monday - Blue
Tuesday - Green
Thursday - Red
Friday - White
Saturday - Yellow

ALL of this hilarity is courtesy of Friday Fishwrap, which I have added to my blog links. I only wish I had met her before my Pride trip, since she sounds like a blast!

More Ed Burns goodness on its way

The last remaining Ed Burns (as writer/director, not necessarily actor) movie that I haven't seen yet is on its way to me from Netflix. I think No Looking Back comes after "McMullen" and "She's the One" but way before "Sidewalks of New York." It will be interesting to see Jon BonJovi in an Ed Burns film--Ed does some interesting things when he has a better-known actor to deal with (such as Jennifer Anniston, Heather Graham, Elijah Wood).

I guess next I have to start with the ones he did "just for the money" (i.e., straight acting jobs). Private Ryan...

I admit it--I love TechTV

Take the Which Screen Saver are you? quiz.

It's the quiz with oomph!

Created by Rachel (oomph) and John (woobyslj)

It's 3:30AM in Chicago... do YOU know where your blogger code is? Hey, I'm through for the night, but at least I managed to get signed up with blogrolling while they were open!

I am going to be SO sorry I tried this...

But here goes nothing.

Hmmm, not as bad as I expected! Now if I can just make the main text entry part just a *hair* narrower so the pretty background shows, I'd be all set! But not at 3:00AM, I think.

I got my tagboard working, I think... Go Me!

Now is anyone SURPRISED at this?

I am...

Which Fellowship Actor are YOU?

What song...

Borrowed this from Sarah, who got it from Amanda, who got it from Holly.. well, you get the idea. I'll probably edit it a bit tonight when I get home and see which CD's are laying by my computer.

1) makes you want to dance: "Bailamos" by Enrique Iglesias, "Smooth" by Santana and Rob Thomas, "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna (sensing a trend? yeah, anything latin)
2) makes you happy: "Blue Savannah" by Erasure
3) reminds you of an ex-lover: any of the real treacly ballads from the mid- to late-70s
4) reminds you of an ex-friend: "Casi Un Bolero" by Ricky Martin
5) describes your relationship with your parents: I don't have *a* relationship with them, but two different ones. Not going there
6) makes you cry: When I was a kid, it was any version of "Last Kiss." Now it's "I Dreamed a Dream" or "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" or most of the rest of the Les Mis score.
7) makes you laugh:
8) makes you ponder life:
9) says a lot about you: "I'll sleep when I'm dead" by Bon Jovi
10) reminds you of the one you want: "Breathe" by Midge Ure
11) you wish you wrote: "Fortress Around Your Heart" by Sting
12) you never want to hear again: most Eminem or Backstreet Boys songs
13) you want played at your funeral: "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" by Bon Jovi
14) you want to get married to: "Love is all around" by Wet Wet Wet
15) makes friends think of you: Somebody give me a clue here. I have NO idea. Duran Duran?
16) you once loved but got sick of: Most of the Thompson Twins stuff
17) you love by a band/artist you hate:
18) you sheepishly admit to liking: I suppose "La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin, but I'm not really sheepish because I like him a lot.
19) makes you want to mosh: I'm way too old for that
20) you'd do anything to see played live: "Maggie May" by Rod Stewart
21) reminds you of your childhood: Mantovani
22) sums up your teenage years: "I'm 18" by Alice Cooper (well, that's the closest I could come, anyway)
23) most people like but you hate:
24) you love the lyrics of: Nearly anything by Sting or David Bowie
25) you used to hate but now love:
26) is best played in the car:
27) you like to fall asleep to: entire "Breathe" album by Midge Ure
28) you like to wake up to:
29) you like out of your parents record collection: classic soundtracks and original scores
30) you love that you wouldn't know about if it wasn't for a friend: several songs by Savage Garden and Nine Inch Nails
31) makes you think of someone who died: soundtrack from "Gigi"
32) you love the video more than the tune: "Blue Jean" by David Bowie (I love the song, but I like the video even better)
33) reminds you of your first crush:
34) is good to listen to whilst holding hands:
35) you love which is from your favourite movie: "I Was Born in Love With You" from the Tim Dalton version of "Wuthering Heights"
36) makes you think of the moon:
37) makes you think of stars:
38) makes you think of the sun: "Here Comes the Sun" by George Harrison (obvious, or what?)
39) makes you think of the night: "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins
40) makes you think of sex: "Breathe" by Midge Ure and "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode
41) makes you think of being alone:
42) makes you smile: "Love is All Around" by the Troggs (thanks to Orli and Kate)
43) you love to hear at clubs: Depeche remixes
44) is not your "typical type" of style but you love anyway: "American Woman" by Lenny Kravitz
45) reminds you of your best mate: anything by Arcadia
46) reminds you of your siblings: "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen
47) reminds you of the one you want but can't have: "Breathe" by Midge Ure (or almost anything else from that album, really)
48) you can sing really well: "Desperado" (Eagles) or "I'm the Singer, You're the Song" (Tanya Tucker)
49) you love which is instrumental: The Lord of the Rings Soundtrack.
50) has only been released recently but you love already:

Subscribe to Lilith Notes?

Yet more testing... I'm going to give Bloglet a try--it's a program that allows readers to "subscribe" to your blog. You can choose whether they get the first few words (or lines) of your posts, the entire post, or just a message saying there was an update--they get these once daily (not every time you change an item). The subscribe box is in the right hand column--if you're interested in this concept, either in general or for my site, do leave a comment and let me know which option (partial post, full post, notification of update only) sounds the best to you.

Rings-Thing

• Do you have a favorite pairing (slash or otherwise) in LotR fanfic, and if so, why?
  
• Is what you prefer to read different from what you write (if you write)?
  
• How strongly do you think these pairings should reflect canon, or is that important to you at all?

Reposting this morning because it wouldn't put it under Tuesday last night, even though I posted after midnight. I'm not going to take this in any kind of order.

Canon? We don't need no steenkin' canon! OK, that's an exaggeration. If something is wildly counter to canon, I'm likely to be upset. Unless, of course, it's really well-written. And of course, that's going to be my bottom line on most of my comments--there is a caveat to almost *everything* -- if it's well-written enough, I make exceptions. The trick is to hook me before I find out I'm reading something I otherwise might not... I really would prefer something that is not *wildly* counter to canon, and I don't normally go for AU, but then again I recently read an Aragorn/Boromir story with the premise that Arwen did not exist... and for purposes of that story, I accepted that premise.

So favorite pairings (given the above caveat). I'm really not much into minor characters these days, especially ones not used in the movies. More power to those of you writing Glorfindel or others of the slighted elves (or men, or hobbits, or maiar, or dwarves, or even barrow wights), and I'm glad you're keeping your favorite characters alive, but there is SO much out there to read that I mostly don't have time to read pairings in which both characters don't appear (in a fairly major way) in the movie. Haldir is a major character, btw. Because I said so...

What *do* I read? Right now, it's almost all Frodo. Frodo/Aragorn by choice, some Frodo/Faramir. Yeah, so maybe we get a little too much "poor, injured Frodo" from time to time--but then again, I *like* poor, injured Frodo. And the propensity of certain men (and the occasional elf) to protect him. People who write this well can do it without belittling Frodo or making Aragorn (or Faramir or Legolas) too paternal rather than protective. My second-favorite relationship in the movie is Frodo/Aragorn--they way it develops from distrust to trust, the evolution of Strider into Aragorn, the way we keep getting images of Aragorn as the protector, the defender, almost a super-hero. He would give his life for Frodo, and Frodo would trust Aragorn with *his*, so for me it's not that big a stretch from there to slash (given a decent premise).

I save most of the Frodo/Sam but am not in a hurry to read it--I'm sure some of it has new things to say (which is why I save it), but for me, the majority of it has been said and expressed about as well as I think it can be. And I'm not hugely interested in it to start with. Frodo/Legolas (Lora did some superb ones, one based on my challenge of "firelight, chocolate, dawn") isn't done enough for my taste--what a beautiful, immortal warrior might see and desire in a most unusual hobbit is a subject I love to see explored. Frodo/Elrond has barely been touched upon.

Frodo/Gandalf is probably my favorite relationship in the movie and I'll read nearly any permutation of this relationship (slash or not). The way Frodo goes from total trust and near-worship, to wondering why Gandalf has not appeared in Bree, to calling out his name after Weathertop, to questioning him in Rivendell, then to Moria... where we get both further questioning and a bit of disillusionment, followed by a rekindling of the relationship, then Gandalf's "death"... SO much fodder for fanfic here.

I guess that answers the unasked part about cross-species, eh? Doesn't squick me. Almost nothing does, really. Write it well and make me believe it, and I'll go with it. Did I say that already?

Non-Frodo? Is there any? OK, yeah, I read it. Merry/Pippin can be too sweet for me (not sure why, since I read other sweet stuff) but some of it is very good. Legolas/Elrond--yum. Haldir/Legolas. Legolas/Aragorn. Legolas/Aragorn/Boromir. Sense a trend? I've had a bit of a problem with some of the Legolas characterizations drifting what I thought was too far from how *I* see him, but there's quite a lot of good stuff out there anyway. OK, I'll admit it--I'd rather not read Legolas/Gimli. I mean, I love JRD and all, but dwarves just don't do it for me. That said, I've read a few when people recommend them, and liked them.

OK, so obviously I'll read it first if it has Frodo and/or Legolas. I like some Boromir/Aragorn, because I think when it's well-written, there is SO much potential there. (And because I can't stand that SeanB is gone...) And I did say, in week one, that Boromir was my favorite character (OK, I may have lied a bit, but I had too many Elijah photos in my blog already and I luuuurve Sean). And those are pretty much all of my favorites, although as I said, if it looks good, I'll read it.

Do I write something different? I'm not currently writing any character slash, but if I did, I suspect it would be either Frodo/Aragorn or Frodo/Gandalf--so, no. I would, in this case, most likely write what I like to read.

Testing Blogger Pro!

Just signed up for Blogger Pro. Fingers crossed that this IS actually an improvement! Need to learn how to use the new features. Best try this 1) not on a Monday, and 2) not on a Monday when I have had less than 4 hours sleep the night before, and 3) not on a Monday (etc) when I really don't understand how to code the darned thing in the first place.

Boy, just when I think I have it, I mess it up worse. I really dread when I decide on a new template and have to do the customizations ALL OVER AGAIN! If anyone has any suggestions on cleaning up all this weird space, DO feel free to let me know! And it doesn't help that Blogger has had the mysterious disappearing-template syndrome all day, either. Let's try editing it in w.bloggar instead and see if it STAYS edited this time!

Friday Five would have been a lot better if blogger had actually let me PUBLISH it on Friday. Oh, well. Considering how often I travel with the handheld or use someone else's computer, it's still my best option to use something web-based rather than computer based. But I really need a new template, don't I? I was looking at blogplates, a webring of people who make templates for these sorts of things, and of course I always love Ann-s-thesia's designs. But I think what I want is something simple but from someone who will put all the coding in it for me--I'm a dunce at this. I'm willing to pay if it's not exorbitant. If you know of someone who does this who *isn't* in the blogplate ring, I'd love their e-mail addy or URL! Or have them give me a holler.

Today's Friday Five

1. Where are you right now? Sitting at my computer at work, wishing I had a 4-day weekend like almost everyone else in the office--SO much photo editing remains to be done from SF trip. Realizing that getting 8 hours sleep on Wednesday night does not make up for less than 4 hours *last* night. Counting the minutes until lunch...

2. What have you lost recently? I lose things so continually that it barely registers any more.

3. What was the first CD you ever purchased? Does that embarrass you now? "Something by Erasure. Whatever was new in the UK the first time I heard them. I was *years* from having a CD player, but that didn't stop me. Erasure remains my favorite group.

Now, if you are mean first recording (don't forget, my generation bought *vinyl*), I bought two almost simultaneously: the original broadway cast album of "Hair," and Bobby Sherman's first album. And I can't say I'm embarrassed by either.

4. What is your favorite kind of writing pen? I a pen *freak*. I keep black note paper at work just so I can take catalog requests and such using gel pens, since I have no good use for them. I love good pens, like Schaeffer, and roller ball pens and stick pens... Lately I've favored Pilot pens, medium point, blue ink, preferably retractable (especially at Cubs, where stick pens can be awkward).

5. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? I'm one of those boring "vanilla" people, especially when it comes to Hagen Daazs. In Ben & Jerry, I like ... what's it called? ... vanilla chocolate caramel or something like that. But I'd just as soon have a really good vanilla, and either eat it plain or add my own toppings (especially chocolate syrup).

I apologize for the delay in adding more notes and photos from San Francisco. I managed to get exactly 40 minutes sleep Monday night (thanks to the lovely flight attendant waking me up to ascertain if my seat belt was fastened--it was), and although I managed to get from the airport to work, through 8 hours including a post office trip, and then home, all without incident, and even picked up my window a/c unit and put it back in without killing myself, my cat, or my neighbors--at that point, I just died. For about 6 hours. Got up, toasted a frozen waffle, ate it, then went back to bed for another few hours. No writing, no importing of photos from microdrive, no photo editing or posting. (The shape I was in, HAD I done any, you wouldn't have wanted to see it--trust me.)

So, this will be a LOTR-less week for me, I guess, with the movie gone from The Vic. I guess 30 viewings is a decent number, although I was hoping to end on an ODD number--for some reason, those sound more believable. Maybe I'll just claim 29...

Anyway, off for home for the wonderful project of trying to get all the photos off my microdrive and onto my desktop computer (which can't import them directly). I just luuuurve moving the zip drive from computer to computer. At least I left the a/c running this morning so the computers shouldn't be too hot to run (let's not think about the electric bill just yet).

Topic: Do you have a favorite race among the denizens of middle earth? If so, which, and why? Do you identify with that race? Is there a race which you either dislike, or have no feeling for or don't feel you understand sufficiently? If you are a writer, which do you prefer to write (if any)?

OK, I'm just off the plane from San Francisco, red-eye flight, no sleep, straight to work. Don't expect coherence.

Until this weekend, my answer always would have been "Elves." For some reason, there's a large part of my brain that keeps trying to make me type "maia." Can't quite figure out why, but I keep getting this image of a gentleman dressed in white, wearing a panama hat and waving a very large Union Jack. Odd. Brain definitely not firing on all cylinders. And as if that's not bad enough, the calendar page on my LOTR calendar for July (which I just turned over) seems to be hobbits, with a certain Scots lad in the front. Must NOT get further distracted...

Ahem. So. 30 years ago when the books were probably the most important thing in my life, the elves were everything. I barely noticed the dwarves, the hobbits were too provincial for me, the ents were amusing but moved altogether too slowly, and none of the men particularly interested me. (Let's not even talk about Orcs...) My favorite characters were easily Elrond and Galadriel, and the elves were the only race for me. I adored elves in very nearly every incarnation--even those faerie folk of George MacDonald, who were more capricious and looked even less favorably on man than did Tolkien's elves. I'd have given nearly anything to be one of them, even the merest dryad. I'd love to, mind you--but I don't identify with them so much as *want* to be like them. If I'm anyone, I'm Pip--WHERE are we going?--minus the looks, the charm, and the lovely accent, of course.

In the movieverse, things haven't changed all that radically. My favorite character is a certain hobbit, but he's definitely got a large share of Elven blood. And there's that Elf B... I mean, Witch, whose agenda I do not trust to entirely coincide with mine. But on the whole, I still love the elves best. They take the long view, as befits ageless creatures, and that will not always look good to mortals in the short term, but it's usually for the best. They live in some truly beautiful places. And several of them (notably Legolas and Haldir) are incredibly hot. So there.

Don't hate any of the races, not even the Orcs (I love the squeak they make when Bob the Cave Troll smacks 'em with his hammer). Then again, I might make an exception for the Fighting Uruk Hai (what do you suppose their colors are? Blood red and brain matter grey?). The race I will probably never attempt to write is the dwarves, because they both don't interest me and I know so little about them--and the latter is probably a result of the former.

OK, OK! For those who cannot wait for my page.... Sorry I'm so slow, but 1) I'm sunburned, 2) I'm way too old for this, and 3) it takes *forever* to load, edit, and upload photos from this laptop.

Serena was, of course, *fabulous*. I can't begin to tell you what they think of him here, or him of them in return. It was like nothing I've ever seen. Sharon Gless was totally overwhelmed by it all, nearly in tears over what a great time she was having, but Sir Ian just fed off it, sent it back out, received it back, and so on in an infinite feedback loop. I am *so* glad I came.

I took literally HUNDREDS of photos, so give me a little time to get them all up. Some will appear tonight, but most will take days or weeks.

I'm in love with two new people: Donna Sachet and Shawna Virago, whose photos you will see on my site. Simply fantastic. And seeing Dead or Alive for the first time was an incredible rush.

So, tomorrow (Monday) I catch up with the two local friends I've missed, try to get a last bit of time with Cody, then head for my red-eye flight and straight from there to work. UGH! Don't expect much of a rings-thing from me on Tuesday!