Does anyone have any recommendations for history books on sort of 1920s-1950s America? I'm planning out pulpy detective stories, and I my grasp of American history after the Great Depression is... Mainly from pulpy detective stories, actually, whoops.

(I am going back through GoodReads and Delicious, because as I remember, thebaconfat had some awesome resources on this for pretty much this reason AND BACO THOSE AUS SHOULD HAPPEN PLEASE AND THANK YOU I mean hi, thank you for those links, those are helpful!)

But yes, LGBT-themed pulpy detective stories! I'm excited! Because this is something that I really want in my life and if I write them myself then... It's a start?

Heylo! Not been doing much - applied for some jobs, avoided some coursework, have an interview with a library that's two hours away by public transport (*whimper*), am currently hanging out with Jill and Lex (I counter-proposed to Lex for our anniversary! Now he has an engagement ring too! :D) while Lex plays Mass Effect and Jill does... I think she's writing an essay. I'm flicking between writing reviews for cirquedesgeeks and working on the CSS for my Content Management Systems project.

(I'm learning PHP! It is really difficult but I'm still excited about doing it!)

But other people have been doing interesting things! ladybusiness has posted a study on the coverage of women in reviews on book blogs which I thought was interesting! My favourite though is probably the ladies' response to critics, which is way more graceful than I could have ever managed (and also possibly why I want to be them when I grow up, a little.)

Other things that have pleased me: Little Foolery are publishing more of their comics in hardcopy! If I had money, I would be on that like burning. Library Wars Volume 9 is coming out next week and Page 45 are ordering it for me (OMG I am so embarrassingly loving that series, I don't even know what is wrong with me.)! ... I'm sure there was something fabulously, vitally important that I needed to share with the internet but for the life of me I can't remember what it was!

RIGHT. SO. One of my friends runs what he calls the Pictonaut Challenge every month, where he posts a picture and invites people to write 1000 word stories based on them.

So. Right. September. I hadn't written anything in... Call it six months. Maybe more. PROBABLY more in fact, because that's how my brain has been working. And there was an image that struck me, and... Yeah. I somehow ended up with 500 words of STUFF that I kinda... Felt like I should own to up? First thing I'd written in that long, first thing I enjoyed... Might as well. Even if it's bad, doesn't make sense, might even be PRETENTIOUS, the works.

ANYWAY. The point is, because I have no shame and a taste for public judgement, I am taking my crappy 500 word story, and I am posting it here on the grounds that I might as well. My journal has seen worse.

( It'll Take Your Watch and Wallet (But It'll Leave You So Much More)Collapse )

TL;DR: It was kinda meh? It wasn't really bad, it just... Didn't do much with the set up it had. Basically, I agree with the internet. Except that LIN IS THE SINGLE MOST BADASS CHARACTER EVER. THE END.

(Also, what it gets right in terms of emotional response, it does really well!)

From this point onwards, there are going to be SPOILERS for the ENTIRE SERIES. I assume I'm the last person to watch Korra and thus the only one who'd need that warning, but manners.

( So. Reactions.Collapse )

One thing I've noticed about this in comparison to Avatar is that I want to write fic for it. Not necessarily fix-it fic, but "SO, what next?" or "What happened then?" fic, whereas with Avatar it was a little bit perfect if we're not counting half of the series finale.

(( Why?Collapse ))

But yes, Avatar was perfect and I don't really NEED fic of it (although I kinda want it - does anyone know where I can find delicious fic for it? I have devoured everything written by sodomquake - yes, even the BILLION WORDS about Jet/Zuko, which I am still kinda reeling from - and I've read Water Tribe, which is a kinda-AU, kinda-post-canon comic about Admiral Zhao, but I'm not sure where to go from there), whereas with Legend of Korra I kinda feel like it'll help? I dunno.

ANYWAY, TOO MANY WORDS and now I need to go and write 2100 words on how librarians can make their services and facilities accessible to people with disabilities. Not sure how I'm going to find references for this, but! Away!

(First time for him, first time actually all the way through for me - I think I got up to the episode before Toph was introduced last time I watched it.)

We're maybe half-way through the third series right now, and I am enjoying it apart from kinda hating Zuko a little bit. I love Zuko, he is one of my favourite characters! And yet. AND YET.

( Cut for spoilers for the end of series two (Earth).Collapse )

( Spoilers for middle of series three (Fire)Collapse )

The main reason I've got back to watching it is that tumblr has reminded me that I wanted to watch Avatar: Legend of Korra, so I should watch The Last Airbender first. I've been avoiding spoilers as far as possible, but I still think that tumblr has ruined this series for me before I even watch it, by giving me entirely the wrong idea of what it's about.

WHAT I THINK IT'S ABOUT:
The industrial revolution sweeping over the world and changing/affecting/destroying people's lives and traditions, with added discussion of privilege and/or politics as played out between Benders and Non-Benders.

STARRING:
Korra ........................ The hot badass protagonist!
Two hot middle-aged men ...... Antagonist mentor characters!
A mysterious guy in a mask ... A mysterious guy in a mask!

WHAT IT'LL PROBABLY BE ABOUT: OMG KORRA YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE THE WORLD.

(I'm not asking for spoilers - Like I said, I'm trying to avoid them, but I do kinda hope that I'm right. A little. Maybe.)

• Lex and I are engaged! FLSDGEODIFGHDLFGKHL!!!LSLH;G;SDG;!!!!!!!!


• Went to a friend's funeral. (I hope he gets Doctor Who in whatever afterlife he's gone to.)
  
• Lex got a new job!


• I found out I'd got to the interview stage of getting a job as a library assistant - the week after we found out we were moving to Manchester. (*facepalm*)


• I quite my soul crushing office job.


• We moved to a nice house in Manchester for a month (basically housesitting for a month, but paying for the privelege.).


• Our geekery? Reduced to playing Magic. A lot. And going to the official Friday Night Magic events at our Friendly Local Gaming Store which was both friendly and KINDA WIN.)


• Jobhuntingjobhuntingjobhuntingjobhunting-


• I started volunteering at a local community centre/library and ended up accidentally reshelving... All of it. Literally. I'm not even joking.


• Our
  
• We moved into a house share for two months with a passive-aggressive controlling bitch of a landlady who kept snooping around our rooms.
  
• Jobhuntingjobhuntingjobhuntingjobhunting-


• Did a month-long training course in Customer Service, in a vain attempt to get a job!


• Jobhuntingjobhuntingjobhuntingjobhunting-


• (I'd like it noted, I have had job interviews! It's just no one ever wants to hire me after they've... Actually spoken to me. I'm trying not to take that personally.)


• We moved in with my family! It was nice, I got to hang out with Lex AND my sister AND my Mum AND my nieces, it was kinda fun.


• I went back to university part-time - I've started a Masters in Librarianship at the University of Sheffield, which is... Hm. I think it's GOING to be interesting, but the teachers we've had have been... Not that interesting? :\


• Lex finished his training course and has been sent out to work in Birmingham... So we moved to Nottingham as an acceptable mid-point between Sheffield and Birmingham! (Getting between Sheffield and Birmingham is a pain. I've tried.)
  
• Jobhuntingjobhuntingjobhuntingjobhunting-


• Jobhuntingjobhuntingjobhuntingjobhunting-


• Jobhuntingjobhuntingjobhuntingjobhunting-


• Jobhuntingjobhuntingjobhuntingjobhunting-

(This post has been sitting in the draft function of DW for since March. I. I don't even. I'm so sorry.)

The trouble with blogging is that if you go away for sixth months, or the best part of two years, it feels like you should post something huge and dramatic when you get back - something with fireworks and explosions and cookies for all of the friends you haven't spoken to in so long.

... Well that's how I feel anyway.

I'm sorry that there's a distinct lack of fireworks! There should be, and possibly hugs because hugs are awesome.

(*stealth hugs*)

(Guys, more of you either need to get twitter or tell me what your usernames are so I can ambush you out of the blue. BACO I AM LOOKING AT YOU.)

I've moved in with Lex, gone full time at my office job of doom, graduated like a boss, seen my baby sister go to uni (she won't let me convince her to open an etsy store full of the stuff she knits, she's mean.), started a review blog, played in a lot of tabletop rpgs and got distracted from a lot of videogames. 2011 was an odd year that kicked me in the teeth a couple of times, but I am trying to make like this is a shojo anime and just do my best. S'all I can do, and all anyone can ask of me.

So, guys, how've all y'all been?

Guuuuuys! I am very behind on my diary of writing, could anyone give me a few first sentences? Cannot promise coherent or complete responses, but will try! (also if anyone wants to prompt for days to come, go for it.)

Days i need ideas for:

21st june
22nd june
23rd june
24th june
25th june
26th june
28th june
29th june
30th june
1st july
2nd july
3rd july
4th july
5th july
6th july
7th july
8th july
9th july
10th july
11th july
12th july

LOOK I SAID I WAS BEHIND. please help?

GUYS I AM BACK IN THE UK, I WILL HAVE INTERNET FROM THE 21ST AND I WILL POST HOW MY TRIP WENT WHEN I'VE SORTED PHOTOS.

Dear Marvel:

( SPOILERS!Collapse ) Apart from that, I enjoyed your film and how when the internet told me it was GAY AS BALLS and did not lie.

Also, I am informed that the guy playing Xavier ships it, ships it hard. And that one of the deleted scenes is him going "Oh, you want to see my powers - well, I can make you see the man to me in drag, is that a clue?" and I WANT IT PRECIOUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

But yeah, I - I want the fic of Raven and Charles growing up and being each others' keeper and HIJINKS. And GUYS ONE OF YOU POSTED A THING and the intro involved something along the lines of "In my head Erik just accepts that living with a telepath means that you can't keep a crush secret" and then there was fic and GUYS WHICH OF YOU WAS THIS? I CAN'T THINK OF WHO BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS halcyonjazz AND IT WASN'T SOB.

(Also I think I've figured out the problem with DW not cross-posting - I think if I don't login properly beforehand, it doesn't keep the crossposting setting of my account. Sigh.)

http://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23bigglingalldaylong

If you wanna keep track of me and you don't have me on twitter, i'm updating with this tag for a while and this link should let you view things without the rest of... Well, me.