lyorn: (Default)
I said that I would post more and complain less. Or try, at least.
So, this is me trying. Again.

There was fun stuff, which was a lot of work and planning and preparation and very stressful, especially since I'm running on about 40% of the energy I had 6 years ago. But with reduced work hours it was manageable.

Choir performances )
Role playing )
Comic convention )

OK, that's it for now. I'll make another post (probably. maybe.) about the way in which 2024 was a mess (for me, personally).
lyorn: (Default)
No New Year's Post this year. Been busy.

Went (indoor, of course) bouldering today, second time this year, fourth time since the choir performance on Dec 2: The two months before that I had put pretty much everything but work and role playing games on hold, as to not risk getting sick.

For the first time since my accident in August 2016 I managed all the easy-easy problems, attempted a few easy ones and solved two -- one quite unexpectedly. In the end, it was not my nerve that failed me (which has been the usual annoying state of things since the accident), but my arm strength. Which can be regained. I put in 15 minutes of weight training in the new weight room, and went home exhausted, but happy. (Still am! See "mood" icon!)

Other things:

I watched "The Last Jedi" and enjoyed it subverting the serie's tropes. cut for mild spoilers ) In general, I felt the movie was a bit too fond of killing lots of extras to show how desperate the heroes are. It became kind of absurd. And I cannot get over the futility of it all. Palpatine had ruled only about 20 years, with the Republic being the one great "before", so, in 40 years after the disposal of that aberration, no one managed to make anything good or lasting off it? Depresses the shit out of me. But, pretty pictures! Great design! Cute animated animals!

On Jan 6 we did the roughly triennial LotR Special Edition marathon at Ceridwen's place.Read more... )
Around New Year, Read more... )
lyorn: (Default)
This week had a public holiday on Thursday, which is always good.

Other than that...

Work )
Role Playing Games )
Music )
Movie: Wonder Woman )
Cat troubles )
Weekend )

And that was it, more or less. Quite a normal week, really. Execpt with one day off.

Rogue One

Dec. 26th, 2016 12:13 am
lyorn: (Default)
Watched it last Tuesday with Ceridwen, in the only cinema in the region showing it in 2D.

Liked it a lot -- more than "The Force Awakens", actually, which felt like, "everything you have seen so far was futile, we are back at the start of "A New Hope"." Endless recursions are fine when you are fighting a Time War and cannot ever get rid of the Daleks, but WTH is wrong with the Star Wars universe to get into exactly the same mess barely 30 years later? Couldn't it be a slightly different mess? Everything that movie did well was tainted by the basic futility of all that had happened before.

Not so with "Rogue One". Spoilers )

I also noticed that I did not have many opportunities to hear English spoken this year. It took me about five minutes before I could understand what everyone was saying.

Fred Clark of Slacktivist thinks about contract workers on the Death Star here without having seen the movie yet.

Something fun: Leaked photos from the Rogue One sequel (Mainly Speculation - Possible Spoilers)

Discussion on Making Light (Spoilers). It includes the mind-boggling line: "yet I hear people screaming to boycott the movie because suddenly it has an anti-Nazi bias.".

The Hobbit

Jan. 6th, 2014 02:50 am
lyorn: (Default)
Just came back from watching "The Hobbit II" with flederkatz. I loved the images and the design, but I could have used a lot less action and a lot more suspense. I'm saying this for every movie I've seen in the last years, I feel, but really, the book had more suspense than this movie.
lyorn: (Default)
Well, the teeth are not so much new as different. I had two more of my wisdom teeth out on Tuesday, and (especially compared to last time it was a piece of cake: No power tools and very little general unpleasantness, and the whole thing done in 45 minutes. But now my mouth feels different and my tongue is encountering edges where there weren't any before, and I talk funny.

Anyway, where was I these last few weeks?

Frightfully busy, mostly. I'll try to just talk about a few highlights to try to keep my recollection of my life in some kind of order.

Some overdue success... )...and a rather bleak view on 2011 so far. )
Sunday, June 5th: Music )
Friday, June 3rd: Shopping )
Saturday, May 28th: Blaue Nacht )
Other things )

And that's pretty much it, and I'm already backdating this big time, because I wanted to do a proper write-up, but I just cannot seem to get around to it, so better post it now.
lyorn: (Default)
I've had two weeks something of vacation, and went to the sea with [livejournal.com profile] flederkatz. Came back last Thursday.

The long version )
Interlude: Movie review -- Ridley Scott's Robin Hood )

The rest of my vacation I spent doing the washing and, surprise, surprise, wasting too much time on the internet. But at least I wrote a story, which is with the betas at the moment. It's based on a true occurrence.... kind of.

ETA: Story is done.
lyorn: (Default)
Heaps of fanfic this year.

Books:

Jun 28th:
Richard Bachmann (Stephen King): "The Long Walk"
Bill Bryson: "The Lost Continent - Travels in Small Town America"
Bernard Cornwell: "Vagabond"
Len Deighton: "The Ipcress File"
Len Deighton: "Funeral in Berlin"
Ben Goldacre: "Bad Science"
John Grisham: "A Painted House"
Charles Stross: "The Family Trade"

Apr 16th:
Dan Abnett: "The Story of Martha" (Doctor Who tie-in)
Peter Anghelides: "Pack Animals" (Torchwood tie-in)
David Llewellyn: "Trace Memory" (Torchwood tie-in)
Gary Russell: "The Torchwood Archives" (Sourcebook)

Jan 11th:
Patrick Rothfuss: "The Name of the Wind"

Fanfic:

Nov 30th:
Aeshna: "...And Things That Go Bump in the Night" (Sarah Jane Adventures/Torchwood)
Dira Sudis: "Get Loved, Make More, Try to Stay Alive" (Torchwood)
Demotu: "Dawn, broken" (Torchwood)
Etharei: "Guard Them, and Him Within" (Torchwood)
Fairest1: "Poor Little Dark Lord" (Harry Potter/Chick Tracts)
Gatewaygirl: "Lighting the Dark" (Harry Potter)
Gatewaygirl: "The Auror, the Potions Expert, and the Cult of Eris" (Harry Potter)
Gunbunny: "Untitled NaNoWriMo 2007" (Torchwood/Indiana Jones/Highlander)
Golden Orange: "The Waking Terror" (Doctor Who/Cthulhu)
Invisible Lift: "Adam" (Torchwood)
Metz: "This Other Darkness" (Torchwood)
Neadods: "A Question of Jurisdiction" (Torchwood/Sarah Jane Adventures)
Paperclipbitch: "How to Use Paradoxes for Fun and Profit" (Doctor Who)
Sam Storyteller: "The Theory of Two Centres" (Torchwood)
Schildkroet: "Fairytale" (Doctor Who)
St. Aurafina: "Never Have I Ever" (Doctor Who/Torchwood/Iron Man)

Oct 6th:
Airie: "Daemononlogy" (Doctor Who)
Cranberry Crash: "The Rotfang Conspiracy Files" (Harry Potter)
Enemyfrigate: "The Phoenix' Nest" (Torchwood)
Honor H.: "Man-Whores and Wealthy Women" (Doctor Who)
Lizbee: "Identity Politics" (Doctor Who)
Madder Rose: "Jack Harkness, Super Temp" (Torchwood)
Neadods: "The Amazing Team TARDIS" (Doctor Who)
Paperclipbitch: "Whatever Pays The Wages" (Doctor Who/Torchwood)
Paperclipbitch: "Far Off, Like A Dull Rumour Of Some Other War" (Torchwood)
Prochytes: "The Persistence of Memory" (Torchwood/Heroes)
Sabethea: "Being True (To Yourself)" (Harry Potter)
Such Heights: "I Heard a Whisper (The Way I Might Have Been)" (Torchwood)
Tree and Leaf: "The Blue Flower" (Harry Potter)
X-Tricks: "Days That Were" (Doctor Who)

Oct 26th:
Lanna Michaels: "Fifteen Things You Should Remember While Part Of A Massive Government Conspiracy." (Torchwood)

Aug 10th:
Antelope: "Scratch" (Torchwood)
DK Valentine: "Hidden Past" (Torchwood)
Eledhwen: "Two immortals walk into a bar..." (Pirates of the Caribbean/Torchwood)
Jinxed Wood: "Gone Fishin'" (Highlander/Torchwood)
JJPOR: "Scareship" (Torchwood)
JJPOR: "Last Man Standing" (Torchwood)
Odsbodkins: "Death and the Definitely-Not-a-Maiden" (Torchwood)
Paperclipbitch: "Acquaint Me With Your Fuck-Ups" (Torchwood)
Penknife: "West Palm Beach, 1927" (Pirates of the Caribbean)
RobinC: "The Children of Time Will Gather" (Doctor Who)
Scythe the Wicked: "Like Death" (Torchwood)
Schildkroet: "To Wander, Between the Stars" (Doctor Who/Torchwood)
Salieri: "Utopia" (Firefly)
Sam Storyteller: "Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodies" (Stargate Atlantis/Torchwood)
Sam Storyteller: "If We Haven't Got Nightingales..." (Torchwood)
Thaddeusfavor: "Baron Saturday Visits Cardiff" (Torchwood)

Jul 20th:
Doyle: "The Great Bikini Incident (Key to Time Remix)" (Buffy/Doctor Who)
Definehome: "A Dirty Great Monster" (Torchwood)
Doyle: "Looked Up in Perfect Silence at the Stars" (Doctor Who)
Joolz: "What Doesn't Kill You" (Doctor Who)
Jewels: "I Dream of Chcolate Fish" (Torchwood)
Joon: "Rock Bottom, Going Up" (Torchwood)
Jewels: "Potentiality" (Torchwood)
K. Haldane: "Trespassers Will Be Persecuted" (Torchwood/Spooks)
Kali & rm: "The Spectacular Catastrophe of Your Endless Childhood" (Torchwood)
X-Tricks: "What Lies Within" (Torchwood)

Jul 13th:
rm and kalichan: "Harbour" (Torchwood)

Apr 3rd:
Aeshna: Small Wonders (Torchwood)
Becky H.: Executioner's Promise (Harry Potter)
Etherati: The Atheist in your Foxhole (Doctor Who)
Jadesfire: Moonrise (Torchwood)
Mgunby: Just Another Bloody Day at Torchwood (Torchwood)
Marcus Rowland: A Gory Fate (Buffy/Gor)
MeiLin: Valiant (Doctor Who)

Jan 11th:
Definehome: Now We're All Going Under (Torchwood)

Movies:

Nov. 29th:
"The Boat That Rocked"

Jun 28th:
"Terminator: Salvation"

TV:

Jul 15th:
More about CoE, expectations, and Hollywood

Jul 13th:
My thoughts on TW: Children of the Earth

My fic:

Im Land der Blinden (Perry Rhodan fanfic) Teaser und Link.
Prolog (Falling towards the future), original fic.

Older recs, reviews and general media nattering:

2008
2007
2006
lyorn: (Default)
Who the heck is writing the scripts these days? Are the writers still on strike and they got a beta version AI to do their job?

I'm unimpressed )

It was still more fun than T3.

ETA: Kit Whitfield has something more in-depth to say about bad action movies.
lyorn: (Default)
Not much this year, I have been lazy.

Books:

Dec 12th:
Five books you do not want to introduce your intermediate level English class to.

Jun 25th:
Douglas Adams: "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency"
Steven Brust: "Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille"
Emma Bull: "Bone Dance"

Apr 13th:
Jaqueline Carey: "Kushiel's Scion"
Scott Lynch: "The Lies of Locke Lamora"
Kit Whitfield: "Bareback"

Fanfic:

Dec 4th:
Apiphile: "Boiling a Frog" (Torchwood)
Becky H.: "Never Doing That Again" (Doctor Who)
Doyle: "Just Impediment" (Doctor Who/Blackadder II)
Jadesfire: "Be Not Without Hope" (Doctor Who)
Tree and Leaf: "Tell Beauty How She Blasteth" (Lord Peter Wimsey)

Aug 7th:
Camilla Sandman: "Today's Not Over Yet" (Doctor Who)
Laura Walker and perryvic:"This Is How The Universe Ends" (Discworld/Torchwood)
Snowhiteliar: "Sunshine on Skin" (Doctor Who)

Movies:

Aug 31st:
"X-Files: "I Want To Believe"
"The Dark Knight"

My fic:

Malenka [1/2], [2/2]

Older stuff:

2007
2006
lyorn: (Default)
A few weeks ago I watched the new X-files movie with Ceridwen, and last Sunday "The Dark Knight" with I___ .

Some thoughts, LJ cut for wordiness, bad structure and spoilers.

X-Files: I Want To Believe )

The Dark Knight )
lyorn: (Default)
Books:

Oct 21st:
Jo Walton: "The King's Peace / The King's Name"
Rosemary Sutcliff: "The Eagle of the Ninth"

Aug 6th:
Katherine Kerr: "Polar City Blues"
Patricia Briggs: "When Demons Walk"

Jul 28th:
J.K. Rowling: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"

Mar 25th:
Jane Huber: "60 Hikes within 60 miles - San Francisco"

Feb 11th:
Carrie Vaughn: "Kitty Goes to Washington"
Josephine Tey: "Daughter of Time"
Neil Gaiman: "Fragile Things"

Jan 23rd:
Emma Bull: "Falcon"
Simon Green: "Deathstalker: Legacy"
C.J. Cherryh: "40.000 in Gehenna"
Len Deighton: "Spy Story"
Alex Kava: "The Soul Catcher"
Michael Connelly: "The Last Coyote"
Laurie Graham: "Future Homemakers of America"

Comics:

Oct 21st:
Terry Moore: "Strangers in Paradise XIX"
Stan Sakai: "Usagi Yojimbo XXI -- The Mother of Mountains"

Fanfic:

Feb 20th:
daegaer: "California Dreaming" (Good Omens/BtVS)
hackthis "If You're the Answer, What's the Question?" (BSG)

Movies:

Nov 11th:
"Stardust"

Jun 11th:
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
"Ocean's 13"

November

Nov. 11th, 2007 11:28 pm
lyorn: (Default)
Five days of freezing rain so far, sometimes making a half-hearted attempt at snow, but never getting around to it. Remnants of a storm over the North Sea rattle the trees and the windows and try to steer cars and bicycles off the path. I don't even try riding my motorbike in this weather.

[livejournal.com profile] cyrna and her husband are off for a three-or-four week health cure. At the moment, I'm caring for their cats. Those cats are very sweet and low-maintenance, nothing like my monsters. I come by every two days, feed, water and clean, and spend an hour or so on the sofa petting the black-and-white big cat who purrs loudly and always has this baffled look on his face. Thin white-and-tabby looks at me from a safe distance and seems to be considering the situation.

Yesterday I went to J___'s birthday party. We were sitting around, talking like old people, about old times and jobs, and kids these days, while the children played and screamed in the next room. On R___'s request, I had brought a salad of chicory, oranges, red onions and mint leaves, with a chili'd vinaigrette strong on the mustard. The leftover smell from the peeling, cutting and mixing in my kitchen is enough to banish evil spirits. It's fresh and harsh, coolish but fierce, a very "awake" smell. The mellowing element in the salad is chicken breast, fried and then let soak in a slightly caramelised soy/balsamic vinegar/orange juice sauce. Because of the vegetarians I serve the chicken on the side and leave the salad's unforgiving temperament unmellowed.

On the party, I met A____ who I hadn't seen in ages and who's now working practically around the corner from me. I had heard her name in some meeting, but as it's not a very rare name I had been wondering.

I came back from the party feeling out of sync with the world, with the rain hammering against the windows. It would have been a great moment to get some writing done -- writing in that state of mind needs editing, but it tends to produce plot and strong images -- but I was just too damn tired. I went to bed, slept for 13 hours and awoke with a headache.

The mood fits the season, graveyard season, with vendors of wreaths and grave ornaments opening seasonal stalls at the entrances of the graveyards. Day of mourning next Sunday, when all the old women go to the graveyards to remember their fathers, brothers, husbands who died in the war. Not sons, not anymore, and in my lifetime the women have gone from oldish to ancient. Oh well, with the adventure in Afghanistan they might get some new blood onto the graveyards. Won't the vendors shivering in their stalls be enthusiastic about it. And the Sunday after next is Eternity Sunday, or Dead Sunday, and after that the Christmas lights come on, and it will still rain.

The week-before-last I visited Tiassa. We did a lot of RPGing, as usual, and in between I managed to re-write an old vampire story. The interesting thing about the re-write is that what used to be our world in the first version isn't anymore -- it's now a world with no LeFanu, no Stoker, no Rice. No Báthory, no Vlad Tepes where this story takes place, no Christian mythology, no ready metaphors. Only the narrator, who has made a study of alien life-forms and human ghost stories once even associates a nocturnal, blood-drinking undead being with the legends, and even she, sceptic that she is, gives equal plausibility to the theory that the dead person was sent back by the patron spirit of righteous anger to settle a score.

We also watched "Stardust" and agreed that it was the most fun and light-hearted fantasy movie we had seen in ages. I had read the books only a few weeks earlier -- I bought them in '97 when they first came out, but somehow forgot to read them. The movie takes everything that works in movie format from the books, leaves out what doesn't, and changes what is necessary yet won't look good on the screen. Very well done. I didn't expect to love the pirates, who are, in the book, respectable and pleasant fishers of lighting-bolts, but I did. The one change I disliked was the one-week-limit that Tristan had in the movie. No way he can change that much in one week, and it cheapens the great adventure is it's done in what feels like a rush.

Big Cat is snoring on his favourite place, which is kind of above the radiator. I have made a hot water bottle for Little Cat who feels that November means snuggling up to something warm and doesn't understand why Big Cat wants to be left alone.

Two movies

Jun. 11th, 2007 01:08 am
lyorn: (Default)
After not being to the cinema for about a year, I went twice last week, once to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End", then two days later for "Ocean's 13".

Other people have written far more interesting and intelligent things about PotC:AWE than I ever could: If I become a little less pissed off with my current LJ addiction I might even link to them.

Cut for mildly spoilerish talk )

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