uselessmarks

Oh, the things that create joy. :)




Seriously. Coolest thing EVER.


Plus!

( claire and gretchen goodness? yep, it's heroes. )




Do you love Metric? 'Coz I do.



She is everywhere it seems, girl of many bands.



But this is the one that still owns me the most. Damn good.







And consider this the latest thought ever, but it just dawned on me that Nikki Reed must have been almost the exact inspiration for the character of Ashley Davies - in a way, in a Thirteen-kind of way. Hmmm.

Writing the sequel and it is rocking. Love this damn SON shit.

I am writing the epilogue anyway. Hehehe.
Can't help myself!

Also, this is making me giggle in joy.



And that's a wrap! SLEEP.



Okay. I lied. NO SLEEP.



Sometimes, you know, I just miss Bad Girls a lot.

*sigh*

we didn't know
what we were
asking for
spinning 'round that bookstore
with the stolen
food and the drinks
not paid for
but that stack
of music
she passed along
in between
time off and pages ripped away
still leaves
me a little breathless
and back then
men were women
and women were men

i'm not dying yet

but my chest feels heavy

and we didn't know
what we were
asking for
spinning 'round that bookstore
with the stolen
glances and the want
not there before
that simple stack
of music
she handed over
in between
mother's lovers and sudden snowstorms
still leaves
me a little breathless

back when

men were women
and women were men

Only one person missing and she'll be showing up soon. God, this episode is going to so nail it for me. :D

So, what's new?

( hmmmmmmmmmmmm )


So, what's old?

( crazy trains? )




I got WINrar and I have so much dance/electronica/jazz/stuff now. Hehe.
Gonna wear this trial version OUT, mofo.

'So Happy I Could Die' by Lady Gaga is awesome. Gonna try to put it up for you people - if not to have, then to hold for a while.





( and I almost forgot two fic recs! )

Especially since she is leaving Verbotene Liebe. :(

*sigh*

Another lesbian off the television.


In other news.......

( The Fourth Kind )




The Royal Academy of the Bards has their annual challenge up! And it is a doozy...lol.
Gonna try it out. See how it goes.
If the deadline drowns out my creativity, then it'll just be some whacked-out AU for another time. ;D

So, for whatever reason, I decided to put Redemption up at Incandescent Fire. I figure it is a way to self-motivate.

But my lengthy warnings/notes thing cracks me up. I sound kind of like... well, a little author-bitchy [lol]. And yet, I like it.

The whole time I wrote the bit about 'cops and criminals cursing', I thought of this:




...Because cops and criminals must use swear-words. As does Homer Simpson. Hehe.

Venice Promo


Oh yes. I am pleased. Jessica Leccia... DAMN. She is so good-looking.

gilligankane gets a double-shot... ;)


1. What is it about music that enraptures you?

Everything. Every single aspect - the way lyrics come out, the form of the words and the choices each person makes in what word to use... the sound of the words, the lilt of the voices - low to high, rough and soft... I'm in love with reverb, with the slide-guitar, with the crispness of one played note on the piano... Strings that catch your imagination and don't let go, the way a trumpet and/or saxophone can make you cry or make you wish for a lover... playing with where a song can start, where it can end - the unexpected swell of sound, the way some songs will just stop and not come back... And then, all of these seemingly separate things come together and paint a picture. Or they take you somewhere new - whether on this planet or in another world, another life. Or they bring up the past, they slip into your now, they weave the daydreams of every future you could ever have.
It has been my best friend and my muse and my sorrow and my greatest joy... and how could I not be enraptured?

2. If you had to choose between Neverneverland and home, which would you choose?

Always home. Those days of fantasy are long gone and I've found that reality is as wonderful... as terrible... as astoundingly wild as any make-believe.

3. What is the slogan of the last twelve months?

It'll get better with time. Don't worry, it will.

4. Where would you go if you could go anywhere? Why?

The beach, right this second...lol. I love heat and I love the ocean even more than that. And winter is settling in now in NC, so if I could just pull up stakes and go south - I would.

5. Remember your mid-year resolutions? (Without having to tell people what they are) did you keep them all or did you break a few?

I do not remember them specifically, yet I remember making some. Hmmm. I'll venture a guess that I kept a few and broke a few, probably several times over. ;)

6. If you were a bird, what type of bird would you be?

Oh, a red-tailed hawk. That's been my animal totem for a while and, though not always the keeper of all my secrets... it is the one that has guided me through many perilous and glorious times.

7. Is there a common theme between your fandoms that draws you in? (Besides the ladies, that is.) And what is it?

To some degree, youth (South Of Nowhere and Utena)... but not enough of a theme. I suppose, sitting back and really looking at it... my belief in true love is the most common theme. I mean, I always take the angst-filled route to that end result - but it is the result I always long for (in my life, in my fandoms...lol) and look for in every show/film/book I have loved. That one couple that survives despite every odd - even if it means surviving each other on some level - but that love always wins out.

8. What is one of your biggest regrets?

I do not have many, to be honest. Maybe that was a resolution? To rid myself of regret... but there have been moments, little slips of time that I used to want to shift something awful - like loosening up when I was in high school and then I could have enjoyed it more.

9. Who is your guilty pleasure singer/band?

Anything blatantly Top 40 - like Britney Spears or Mandy Moore.

10. What do you think comes after death?

More life...lol. Or, if you've done the work, nirvana.

From the lovely aleriadeufania... :D


1) Who is your favorite Utena character, and why?

While I have some kind of love for all of them, Anthy is the one that I love the most. She is so... symbolic and broken and multi-faceted, like the most beautiful (and most feared) bird in the universe. She is gorgeous and, when I wrote so much SKU fanfiction, she was the star of many of my fics - because she is as much the heart of the show/film as Utena herself.


2) When did you have your most significant revelation in life?

I've had so many over the past three years...lol. But I will go with the most recent, because it is a huge one - it happened five days ago, down in Charlotte, after doing the first energy work I've done in a while. Really big stuff came out. And I am still riding this particular wave.


3) Out of all the relationships you've ever been in, is there one you would go back and change how it ended?

Hmmm. While I am a true believer in things happening the way they must happen... I might go back in time and have a clearer view of the last relationship I was in, so that the end of it wouldn't have been so... I don't know, so shocking and more inevitable.


4) What sort of relationship do you think Xena and Gabrielle have?

I think it is all things that all relationships can be - it is a friendship, it is sometimes like a teacher & student, it treads into the realm of soulmates and I think it treads into the realm of lovers. They are everything to one another. That's how I see them. :)


5) Out of everything you've written, what do you recommend that I read? ^_^

Hehe. Well, I guess I should recommend something in a fandom you might enjoy... but I've never thought my Xena stuff to be that good. But, go check out iconfanficxwp - most of it is mine. :)

Oh yea. I got that MP3 of Pomplamoose's Beat It. Because it is too awesome not to own and play over and over. And over. And over.


( where I talk Otalia and wonder... why? )


The gym membership is awesome. And kicking my ass just a little. But awesome.
Nothing but rain here.
Took some odd trips down memory lane today/tonight - not for the best, but I guess I needed to... or I wouldn't have done it in the first place.
Talked to one of my sisters. She is having a hard time lately and I hope to help her out some this Sunday.
Had some weird text chat with Tori.
Heard from Mr. Davis and we had a chuckle. Or two.

It's like I am talking about my entire day all of a sudden. Time to move on.


( building and building )

talkingdonkey has graced me with wonderful questions...



1. What is the difference for you when you write a poem and when you write a story?

I cannot write a personal story, not really. There might be shades of me in a story - but... not really. Whereas, with poetry, it is all about me - good, bad and otherwise. And I cannot write an impersonal poem. That would be the biggest difference to me.
Not sure why it turned out that way, because I think it would be a good thing if I could reverse that for a while [lol].


2. You've been following a treasure map and finally get to the end of the map and find a door. Behind the door lies your treasure. What is your treasure?

Wow. I am hesitant to answer this, because... what if that happens and I forget something integral?
But let's say that the universe covers the smaller details and I am finding the treasure of 'big' things. In that case, behind the door would be a woman who loves me (in the romantic sense) honestly and a world-changing career in music.


3. What do you do if you have writer's block?

Years ago, I would - literally - flip out. I'd pull at my hair and scream and get very... depressed/angry. I'm not sure if I was trying to be a 'tortured artist', but it felt like it sometimes. In recent years, though, if the story is not coming - I walk away from it and I've found that that is the best thing to do. Just walk away and come back when the urge returns.


4. If you could travel and study the music of any locale(s), where are you going and why?

Places like Brazil or Cuba. Somewhere in South America or upon a warm island. I've always been drawn to Latin music - it is a sound out of another time and is separate from the 'modern' world in a lot of ways, very instinctual and raw. But my interest does not really go toward Mexico, so go figure [lol].


5. What animal do you most associate yourself with?

Hmm. Part of me goes with a dog - because they are loyal to a fault (and I am quite like that) and have played a huge role in my life (especially my childhood). But then my Leo-side kicks in and pleads the case for a lion - larger than life and king of the jungle and such.
Maybe a hybrid? ;)

And now life is proceeding. Buckle up. The flight is about to begin. ;D





Thank you, Tom! Seriously bad-ass...

From the most awesome erinmar13



1. what is your absolute favorite scene in any book? and what about makes it your fave?

Hmmm. There are certain moments (and in many books) that have stood out when I read them and made an impact... but most of them have slipped away from my memories. So, for today, I am going to give you two scenes that I can recall.
One is from Dream Boy by Jim Grimsley, almost right at the end, between Nathan and Roy - Roy is coming out of church and Nathan is seeing him (I won't go into great detail), but there is something achingly moving about how he views this other boy and what occurs when Roy actually sees Nathan. Just very moving all the way around.
And the other scene is from The Silk Road by Jane Summer. And it is hard to pick a singular scene from that book, 'coz I love the whole thing so much. But, for today, I will pick... the first time Paige and Fiona have sexual contact with one another. It is brief, but descriptive - and not in a flowery way. It feels very real, very honest.


2. what do you love about music, how does it move you?

I love everything about music, without a shadow of a doubt. It moves me in ways nothing else can or has or will. I get giddy, I get sad, I get angry, I get introspective. I want to dance, I want to daydream, I want to create. I dissect and I analyze lyrics, I pick out the instruments used and then mesh them back together - to see the individual and then to see the whole picture.
Music is my life, plain and simple. And my soundtrack only gets bigger with each day I am alive.


3. what's your favorite place to go to take photographs?

There are so many good places for that around here. The Blue Ridge Parkway is the best, though. Miles and miles of road and woods and brilliant overlooks.


4. what is it specifically about xena and gabrielle's relationship that captures you?

That their love for each other it is so over-whelming, so all-consuming. Perhaps it is that dramatic side of me coming out, but I love that kind of thing [lol]. They can be accepting and caring and their love for one another changes them in so many good ways - but it can also be a demanding love; a fitful and obsessive and jealous love... and I really like the fact that they are all these things with each other, all rolled into one.


5. what constellation is your favorite, what about it speaks to you?

I really do not know. I used to study the stars so much as a child, was convinced I should be an astronomer. But the information has left with the years - not the love, mind you - just the information [lol].
But I've been hearing a lot about Leo lately on StarDate... and since I am a Leo... that is what I will go with as my favorite.
And I guess it speaks to me because of the zodiac connections. I feel like it is a part of me up in the skies and that is a cool idea to me.

Or something like that. But who cares! I have found the coolest place ever and now I kind of want to live in New York. :D

The ARChive of Contemporary Music. GUH. Just... GUH. And as if this isn't awesome enough, check that name at the top of Board Of Advisors.

:D

Lovely questions from the lovely still_nina


1) If you had to teach a course about contemporary music, who would you include and why?

Oh wow. What a great question... and one that has so many answers [lol]. But first we must define the term 'contemporary' music - which can differ within genres as far as timelines.
But the general consensus is from 1950 and onward, so that is the one I shall follow.
I'd have to cover every angle - to satisfy myself and to offer the those who come to the course the most broad scope... It would cover the rise and fall and rebirth of 'rock' music (from something derived of the blues and from 'hillbilly' music to what it has become - less traditional, more marketed... and all the sub-genres as well - the break down of the largest genre, both good and bad), with people such as Buddy Holly, Elvis, The Beatles, Hank Williams, Sr.; Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and so forth and so on. It would probably take up all the time I would have [lol].
But I would cover the growth of jazz (from be-bop to west coast to fusion, Cab Calloway to Wes Montgomery to Miles Davies), the rise of new-age/ambient music (from Brian Eno opening the field in the '70's to what it is today), the shift of country from a roots kind of music to the pop/rock mesh it is now (Grand Ole Opry to CMT...lol).
Forget taking up all the time of the course, it would take up the rest of my life. ;)


2) You get to invent a holiday. What would you celebrate? And how?

It's probably already out there somewhere, but World-wide Meditation Day. And by taking an hour, several hours, the whole day even to meditate and center oneself and just be.


3) Is the glass half-full, half empty, twice as big as it needs to be or just full enough to drown yourself?

The glass is exactly what it needs to be in the moment, which means it is all of these things and more. ;)


4) Would you rather be the president, an author or a magician?

Well, the first and last deal in illusions - so I'll take on author. Besides, I always fancied myself one anyway. I love to write. :)


5) You can only write for one fandom for the rest of your life. Which would you chose? And why?

While that is a hard one to answer, because I like change... if I really had to choose... I'd have to go with Xena Warrior Princess. It is the core relationship of Xena/Gabrielle (and all the ways it evolved and grew) that hold my interest and has for years upon years.

And I mean that in the best possible way.

( Heroes talk )



Got a headache. And it is from thinking too much about something I have to do that is making me nervous. Le sigh.
Listening to some extremely awesome techno/trance.
iTunes is being the biggest bitch EVER.

And so life goes on and on. Hope all of you are well! <3

Like I said, this is my jam. Years have gone by and not a sight of this song anywhere - now it is on YouTube AND the cd is being re-issued. YES.


And of course, embedding disabled... but whatever. You might has well look closely and see the string attached at her hip that leads all the way to my clit.

Questions from the most awesome _slutknot_! :D



1. What is your most embarrassing High School memory?

Oh man. I guess the most would be the time that I slid across half the basketball court - because I tripped over my own feet. It was in front of most of the school. I walked it off outwardly, but I was completely mortified [lol].


2. What is your most played CD?

I'm going to not include mixes (which are probably my most played cds, technically), so... hmmmm... at this point it is probably Neko Case's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.
Damn good shit.


3. What is your guilty pleasure pairing?

I do not feel guilty about it, though! [lol] But I love Gabrielle/Aphrodite, BIG TIME. I wish there were tons of fics that wrote that pairing - and make Xena suffer a bit, too. Heh.


4. What are the top 5 fandom characters in your spank-bank?

Gabrielle [XWP, of course], Natalia Rivera, Spencer Carlin, Brunhilda [The Valkyrie Trilogy chick] and Alex Cabot


5. What movie/tv show do you quote most?

Either Star Wars or It's A Wonderful Life.





And yes, we have entrapped ourselves in a never-ending meme! :D