ziparumpazoo: Yoda with a headache. (Jedi Mind Cramp)
According to my Endomondo app, I've ran over 100km since the end of August. 122.99, to be exact. Possibly why my already old runners are starting to feel a little flat. I'm also going to need to maybe learn to make friends with the treadmill if I want to keep up this pace over the winter. Running outside at night is fantastic, frostbite and cold-triggered asthma, not so much.

Watched The Other Boleyn Girl last night and found myself near tears at the end, even though, and thank you PBS documentaries, I knew how it would end. The cinematography was gorgeous, with the use of mood setting color - golds and soft greens used for the idealistic country scenes, dark blues and greys for the cold and calculating Court. But it was Natalie Portman's Anne who really blew me away. It's easy to forget was a skilled actress Portman is, until you see her in a role this varied. Not that Scarlett Johansson is any slouch, but this version of the story portrays Mary as much gentler and even tempered than her sister Anne. I don't know how historically accurate the plot line was (see above, pretty cinematography), but it was an interesting angle portraying the Boleyn sisters time at King Henry's Court from Anne and Mary's point of view for the most part, putting a spin on, and adding complexity to the PBS versions that paints them as conniving and power hungry.

Fic rec for the Natasha/Steve folks on my list (and wow I haven't done this for a long time)...it's older and probably I am the last to know as usual:
Without the Usual Cost of Labor by [personal profile] vain_glorious - "Someone just reported to SHIELD that whatever was stolen produced "viable offspring", and we're hoping that doesn't mean what we thinks is does," Bruce says, evidently deciding to take over for Tony after only one masturbation joke.
Baby!fic, kinda, wherein the entire story reads like a running Tony monologue. Sweet without being saccharine, and with a side serving of enough almost-crack to make me grin. Gen and PG.
ziparumpazoo: (UnattendedChildren)
Filed under "I think I saw that in an animated movied once": Cat caught smuggling saws and drills into Brazil prison - The cat has not divulged which of the prison's 263 inmates it was attempting to break out.


With the death of free website hosting and mailing lists, there's been a noticeable shift in the way people consume fic. There's also been a change in the way people comment and feedback said fic, as well as in understanding what concrit actually means. My Thoughts on Concrit by anonypants sums up some of the issues with leaving constructive criticism, and why a lot of people just don't do it much anymore. I wonder too, if using beta readers has become more of a fandom standard over the years? Fewer hard feelings hashing a piece out with somebody you trust before letting it loose.



Most imortantly, a rec!

For the [community profile] fringe_exchange [personal profile] samjohnsson wrote me this fantastic Season 1 Astrid what-if piece that hints at a larger puzzle:

Written in Sand (1399 words) by samjohnsson
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Fringe
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Astrid Farnsworth
Summary: Zip gave me open season on hir fill for this, with suggestions of AUs, and timeline tweaks, and five things, and found families.
As with all things s01 Fringe, I love when stories ask more questions than they answer. I got this little idea, this little seed of "what if". I may end up running with it farther, eventually.
ziparumpazoo: (Xray)
I was looking for the dissasembly instructions online to clean the lid of my travel mug. If didnt already own the mug, which really does live up to all the reviews - it actually kept my coffee warm enough to be drinkable for over 11hours when I forgot it on the shelf by the front door, and even after my commute in -30C temps, it still needs time to cool off before drinking, I'd be sold by this review:


16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Can be used for Liquid Nitrogen, June 2, 2011
By T. Savage - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: Thermos 16-Ounce Vacuum-Insulated Travel Tumbler, Stainless Steel (Kitchen)
Everybody has already said how amazing this mug is, so I'll skip that.

But you should all know that this mug can be effectively used as a hand-dewar for liquid nitrogen. I bought 50 liters for my birthday party (molecular gastronomy day!). We needed a mobile unit we could dip things into for freezing (frozen marshmallows, nom). I filled my thermos with LiN and proceeded to be amazed. The outside was NOT EVEN COLD TO THE TOUCH. Excuse me, this bears repeating.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
FILLED WITH LIQUID NITROGEN, THE THERMOS WAS NOT AT ALL COLD TO THE TOUCH.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Except right around the top-- but whatever. Anyway, I was damn impressed. The LiN didn't boil off once it was settled. We had fun.
Just... don't put the cap on. The plastic might not agree with the cold.
Also, it could explode.
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Comment Comments (5)


*wonders where to get LiN on a Saturday...*

Also discovered the little hook thingy on the bottom of the lid does have a purpose other than looking odd - it's a tea bag hook!
ziparumpazoo: (SmoothAstrid)
To rec this:

Title: The Preservation of Cultural Heritage
Fandom: Fringe
Rating: All Ages
Characters: Astrid and Walter
Season/Timeline: Blueverse? Or some 'verse where Walter owns MD, anyway.
Word Count: ~700
Summary: The first box arrives on Wednesday afternoon. Humor.

Because getting [personal profile] mrspollifax hooked on Fringe was one of the best ideas ever.

BTW

Jun. 25th, 2012 02:28 pm
ziparumpazoo: (Xray)
More Glee Monday (the happy feeling kind, not the show) is going on at [personal profile] mrspollifax's LJ. I'm going to have to agree with her that there's definitely not enough Fringe there at the moment.

ETA: Not only is there Nina Sharp picspam, but she'd also written me Nina/Phillip future!fic as only she can.

Fringe Rec

Mar. 5th, 2012 08:26 pm
ziparumpazoo: (Fringe_rooftop)
Today I received an email from the distant past - the timestamp read 1969-12-31. I kid you not. I'm blaming wormholes.

Speaking of time and wormholes, I might be biased because I think this was originally my prompt and then she let me read along, but don't judge until you've read Theme and Variations by [personal profile] mrspollifax, wherin she explores the relationship between Ella and her Aunt Liv during those missing years in the future!verse, and all the times and people Ella's had to say goodbye. While the canon characters are perfectly in character, it's Ella who is wonderfully real as she navigates her way through to the end of the world and eventually finds her place in it.
ziparumpazoo: Tree covered in pink frost (Default)
...Just like I turned 24 last year... and the year before that... and the... you get the picture. Celebrated with an invigorating round of physio for a sprained knee (not the one I bashed up a few weeks back though hockey was the culprit again - being 24 isn't like it used to be!) where my wonderful therapist demonstrated an exercise that involves closing one's eyes, standing on one foot, and sounds a lot more like a drinking game or a sobriety test than therapy.

However, that pales compared to the red velvet cupcakes from my dear sis, the sparkly valentines v-gifts (thank you to the usual suspects! *hugs*), sexy ship picspam from [personal profile] supplyship (because she knows my weak spot for fast clean lines and lots of horsepower. and spaceships!).

Oh, and [profile] a_loquita wrote me fic: Homemade Construction - SG1, mostly gen, but very sweet Valentine's celebrations through the years. (mostly gen, except for suggestive use of transporter technology, that is)

PS: Kate, the card arrived today and I had to hide it already so it didn't get over-loved. It's fabulous. Thank you so much!

Insta rec

Feb. 8th, 2012 07:21 pm
ziparumpazoo: Tree covered in pink frost (Default)
A good crossover is hard to pull off. Even more difficult if one of the sources happens to be a Sorkin drama, but mrspollifax pulls it off with style:

What's Next (4044 words) by faviconmrspollifax
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stargate SG-1, West Wing
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet, Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill
Characters: Jed Bartlet, Percy Fitzwallace, Toby Ziegler, Josh Lyman, Daniel Jackson, Carol Fitzpatrick, Jack O'Neill, C. J. Cregg, Donna Moss, Sam Carter, Abbey Bartlet
Summary:

Five conversations about the Stargate Program that happened at the White House. Post-series for SG-1, whenever you like for TWW, but AU as will be obvious.



Or at her LJ
ziparumpazoo: (Xray)
This, which might be my favorite performance of Oh Fortuna ever:




Unrelated, the big epic BSG rewatch is up to the beginning of season three's Unfinished Business (aka, the one where Starbuck and Apollo beat the crap out of each other in the boxing ring, while in another time and place Bill and Laura smoke up and giggle like teenagers), and can I just say that the structure of the episode hits all my storytelling buttons? The way the flashbacks unravel all sort of missing backstory...weaving what's essentially two separate episodes into one but heightening the tension and drama in both because we, the audience, are made suddenly prescient? yeah. Why don't more shows use this device?



Fringe - The Astrid Episode: Flail and satisfaction all around. That's all I need to say about that. I love that, for a sci-fi show, they never lose sight of it being a story about love and family and being exceptional in ones own way and finding a place to belong.
ziparumpazoo: (Literature)
So [personal profile] monanotlisa wrote this lovely piece of cabin fic - The silence in-between, which is my fandom weak spot. Also, it's a gorgeously detailed snapshot of Olivia and Lincoln in the face of several classic fic tropes (sharing body heat to stay warm, anyone?), which you should not miss.

Anyhow, from there I discovered there is such a thing as the Canadian Shack 2011 challenge. And then I might have written fic...

Last Turnoff Before Acension (945 words) by faviconziparumpazoo
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Rating: General Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Kara Thrace, Leoben Conoy
Summary: Three days ago Leoben witnessed Starbuck’s death.
ziparumpazoo: Tree covered in pink frost (Default)
flash

So as this year draws to a close and you lovely people on my flist who entertain me day after day flee to parts unknown or unplug to spend time with the loved ones, I wish you all the happiest of year-end celebrations and safe travels, even if it's just over to the neighbor's for a drink and plate of cookies.

~
And if you happen to be loading up your e-readers for a holiday fic-binge, stop on over at the Fringe Secret Santa masterlist and fill up. There's sure to be something to please everyone's taste.
ziparumpazoo: Tree covered in pink frost (Default)
The non-spoilery:

If you've never watched Fringe before, this is an excellent jumping in spot. The episode was structured so that it's still enjoyable even without knowing any of the backstory. It's even better if when you have caught up and do know what's going on, but the writers leave just enough loose threads dangling to pique the curiosity of the uninitiated.

The visual theme of this season seems to be 'vibrance'. The colors are beautifully saturated (as opposed to last year's red tinted and blue tinted episodes), and there was a distinct lack of lens flare. I think this is a visual cue that while this is still a JJ Abrams creation, Fringe is now very much a Pinkner/Wyman production and they are firmly in control of the boat.

(also, fellow SG1 fans... that warehouse look familiar to anyone? ;)never mind - I'm getting my sci-fi confused.

The spoilery:

Neither Here Nor There )


Is it next Friday yet?

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