lyorn: (Default)
I have been browsing my archives, and I used to talk about books so much and now I ... don't, mostly.

It's not that I am not reading, although I have trouble sitting still, it seems that during my illness I had developed the tendency to regard "running around in circles, screaming" as a productive activity, and reading, not so much.

But as I'm trying to recover the parts of myself that I actually like (as far as my body will allow me): Talking about books.

Note re: Spoilers: I try not to, except in very general ways (i.e. "happy ending", or not), but if you really dislike spoilers, you might not want to read my reviews. Alas, I lost my spoiler masking code along with my LJ and am too lazy to re-create it.

Today I finished Travis Baldree: Bookshops and Bonedust )
lyorn: (Default)
From 2011 (or earlier) to 2018, R__, Gwydion, Ceridwen and I used to find a Saturday or Sunday in Advent to bake christmas cookies ("Plätzchen") at R__'s house with the large kitchen opening to a larger informal dining room. We each made between one and six sorts of cookies, and then shared them. It was fun, but it was strenous, too.

But then, 2019, I was sick. 2020 and 2021 there was Covid-19. Since 2022 R___ has houseguests who like to cook for everyone, so the kitchen has kind of become their space. Plus, after Covid we we all had gotten out of practice at managing our social schedules.

Today Ceridwen and I did the baking at my place. (We are back to coordinating two persons' schedules, maybe next year we'll manage three?). I made two types of macaroons, as I still had frozen egg whites from the previous year (when I had big plans, but found that my bad shoulder blocked implementation), and my standard "gold coins", undecorated small cookies with vanilla, brown sugar and honey. Ceridwen did two types of shortcrust pastry cookies: one with marzipan mixed in the dough, the other with vanilla. We started the day with a breakfast at 10 a.m. and worked until 8 p.m., then drank a whisky, shared and packed our cookies, and called it a night.

Despite doing only three recipes and sitting down a lot, I'm still exhausted and in pain. This is getting really old. But I haz cookies!

I might post the recipes later, or not. I'm wary of making promises.

--

Also: Started reading Kameron Hurley's "Infidel". (Have not read "God's War".) Not sure if I like it. World is weird in an interesting way (also, it seems, crapsack), writing is good, but for me, it's a bit too close to the Eight Deadly Words so far. For now, wanting to know what happens next keeps me reading.

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.".
lyorn: (Default)
As I had hoped, we left work halfway early on Friday, so I could wander through the town in daylight and admire the multicoloured roof of the cathedral in the evening sun, and the painted houses and palaces, have coffee and buy some cake for dinner.

I have given up on attempting to eat "reasonably", and now eat for high stress, meaning, as much chocolate and pastries as I need to be at full mental and emotional strength. This has led to three long evenings of writing, in which I have finally ironed out a tricky problem in timing and emotional development in the story I am currently working on )

Saturday the hotel was really empty, because all the business travellers had gone home. The breakfast buffet was limited to cereals, bread and jam, but one could order different preparations of eggs from a menu.

I was in town too early. According to notes posted, most of the places open at 9, but actually it's more like ten. I got to see the cathedral from the inside -- it impresses mostly but its size, light (the sun was shining brightly) and gothicness. An hour later the guide's office was open and I got a ticket to climb up the North Tower, which is 59 metres high, 160 steep, very narrow, and occasionally unlit steps, but these things have never stopped me. The view was more than worth it. I bought a few pretty things, just because, had cake and coffee and heavenly ice-cream, and went back to the hotel some time in between to change from coat and sweater into T-Shirt and hoodie, as the sun was shining with considerable strength. I also wrote a bunch of post cards and used my five words of Slovak (yes, no, good morning, please, thank you). I was back at the hotel around three, washed my hair, ate chocolates and read The Black Swan )

Sunday (today) I went to the zoo, just as planned. Zoos are simple outings, no complicated planning or navigation involved, and little to no language skills, and that was exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, the weather had taken a turn for the worse, there was sleet when I walked to the bus station. The zoo is 7 km from the town, up in the hills, and the sleet turned to snow. I envied the alpacas and the bears. A lot.

The good thing about the weather was that the place was, except for the animals, pretty quiet. Two red deer were fighting with noises like dry twigs beating together. The harbour seals grunted and snored when they came up for breath. The parrots spoke Slovak. There was a wood stove burning in the zoo restaurant, and I had chicken soup which did a lot to warm me up. All in all I spent about four hours in the zoo, despite the cold and the paths being short for the size of the place.

Back in town, I had a hot chocolate which was good enough to lift me off my seat, and then went back to the hotel to cuddle up under a blanket and read "Through the Language Glass", which is a lot more fun then "The Black Swan". I might write a review later, when I have finished it.

This evening I had planned to have dinner in the hotel restaurant, as the menu sounds utterly mouth-watering. But it was not open. Seems that the cook has the weekend off, sigh.

Story link

Oct. 3rd, 2011 03:07 am
lyorn: (Default)
[livejournal.com profile] flederkatz hat eine neue Story gepostet: Carpe Mortem

Zombies, Römer, Verkehrschaos!
lyorn: (Default)
I was not in a posting mood for a while because I had a cold, and work was still driving me crazy.

[livejournal.com profile] flederkatz is over for a visit, and she has posted a short story, "Geld oder Leben" (in German) to her LJ.

We have been playing RPGs, eating pancakes and cabbage stews (not at the same time), and working on our respective creative projects this last week.
lyorn: (Default)
Note 1: I'm way behind on my reading. Everything I rec here has probably been rec'd all over the internet and back already. But I can live with not being avant-garde.
Note 2: If you want ratings, or warnings for spoilers or anything else, you'll find them on the fic.
Note 3: Spoilers for the stories should be masked out in pale grey. If you see this sentence, it did not work. Highlight to read.

***

Top of the heap

Kaydee Falls: The Rose of Jericho (TW) )
***

Recommended

JJPOR: Ground Rules (DW) )
Lurky McLurklurk: The Assistant (DW) )
Cyus: Time Has Set Its Maggot (TW) )
Laytoncolt: Timeless (TW) )
szm: Conversations With the Dead (DW/TW) )
Poisontaster: All Things in Time (TW) )
Sam Storyteller: In Geneva (DW) )
Prochytes: Power Struggle (TW) )
EponymousRose: Comes the Rain (DW) )
Athraphoenix: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Surviving a Dalek Invasion )
Sahiya: The Rest of the Story (DW) )
lyorn: (Default)
Note 1: I'm way behind on my reading. Everything I rec here has probably been rec'd all over the internet and back already. But I can live with not being avant-garde.
Note 2: If you want ratings, or warnings for spoilers or anything else, you'll find them on the fic.
Note 3: Spoilers for the stories should be masked out in pale grey. If you see this sentence, it did not work.. Highlight to read.

Some TW: CoE this time, as well as the New Who Alt!Verses (Turn Left, Pete's Universe), a little Old School Who, and a HP (LoPiverse)


***

Top of the heap

Cyus: Before the Children Green and Golden (TW) )
***

Recommended

Kaydee falls: Life in Technicolor (DW) )
Duncan Johnson: Shadowfall (DW/Dracula) )
Gillian Taylor: Reset (DW) )
A. J. Hall: Goodbuy to Berlin (HP) )
Aeshna: Though Soft You Tread (TW) )
Sqyd: Secrets (TW) )
***

Short and shiny

witchofthedesk: Scarcely Bears Thinking About (DW) )
Amy: In An Interstellar Burst (DW) )
Amy: A Change is Gonna Come (TW) )
Gillian Taylor: Being the Doctor (DW) )
Ceindreadh: The Best-Laid Plans (TW) )
X-Tricks: The Night that Never Was (TW) )

***

From the backlog: More Tardis Big Bang 2

Sam Storyteller: Sing Morning Out Of Night (DW/TW/SJA) )
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)
Da zu meinen Hobbies "Kochen" und "Essen" zählen, blättere ich gerne in Kochbüchern, und schaffe es gelegentlich sogar, ein paar Rezepte nachzukochen, wobei sie sich unweigerlich verändern. Rezepte, die es in meine Standards schaffen, landen auf meiner Website, der Rest ist entweder trivial, oder eine interessante Erfahrung.

Drei Kochbücher, die es sich derzeit in meiner Küche wohnlich eingerichtet haben:

Linda Collister: Wunderbare Schokoladenkuchen (Bassermann Verlag) )
Cornelia Trischberger: Kochen für Faule (Gräfe und Unzer) )
Dr. Oetker - Marktfrische Küche (Heyne) )
lyorn: (Default)
Note 1: I'm way behind on my reading. Everything I rec here has probably been rec'd all over the internet and back already. But I can live with not being avant-garde. Nothing rec'd for TW here considers Series 3 yet.
Note 2: If you want ratings, or warnings for spoilers or anything else, you'll find them on the fic.
Note 3: Spoilers for the stories should be masked out in pale grey. If you see this sentence, it did not work.. Highlight to read.


***

Top of the heap

Couldn't decide. They are all brilliant, but very different.

***

Recommended

JJPOR: Alien Abduction (DW) )
A.J. Hall: Tunnelling to Freedom (DW) )
Charles Stross: Overtime (Laundry, original) )
Casira: Translations (DW) )
xwingace: Extended First Meetings (DW/Journeyman) )
Jungle Kitty: Backwards and in High Heels (ST:TOS/RPF/Meta) )
***

Short and sweet

Sam Storyteller: Compromise (TW) )
Adina: Flotsam and Jetsam (TW) )
Travels-in-Time: Perspective Shifts (TW/Discworld) )
***

From the backlog

Robin C.: All the King's Horses (DW) )
Aeshna.: And Seven For A Secret (TW, Tardis Big Bang II) )
lyorn: (Default)
The weather forecast said something about rain this night, but guess what? It's snowing. Again.

Because I was too lazy to dig out my car and not confident enough to bicycle through the old-and-new snow I walked a lot this week. Which was fun. I also took the bus a few times, which wasn't.

Food )
Waters of Mars/End of Time (mild spoilers) )
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)
Note 1: I'm way behind on my reading. Everything I rec here has probably been rec'd all over the internet and back already. But I can live with not being avant-garde. Nothing rec'd for TW here considers Series 3 yet.
Note 2: If you want ratings, or warnings for spoilers or anything else, you'll find them on the fic.
Note 3: Spoilers for the stories should be masked out in pale grey. If you see this sentence, it did not work.. Highlight to read.

***

Top of the heap

It is a drabble this time. No, really. Golden Orange: The Waking Terror (DW/Cthulhu) )
***

Recommended

Gatewaygirl: The Auror, the Potions Expert, and the Cult of Eris (HP) )
Gatewaygirl: Lighting the Dark (HP) )
Invisible Lift: Adam (TW) )
Sam Storyteller: The Theory of Two Centres (TW) )
Dira Sudis: Get Loved, Make More, Try to Stay Alive (TW) )
Aeshna: ...And Things That Go Bump in the Night (SJA/TW) )
Paperclipbitch: How to Use Paradoxes for Fun and Profit (DW) )
Metz: This Other Darkness (TW) )
Gunbunny: Untitled NaNoWriMo 2007 (TW/IJ/HL) )
***

Short and sweet

St. Aurafina: Never Have I Ever (DW/TW/Iron Man) )
Schildkroet: Fairytale (DW) )
Neadods: A Question of Jurisdiction (TW/SJA) )
Demotu: Dawn, broken (TW) )
Fairest1: Poor Little Dark Lord (HP/Chick Tracts) )
***

From the backlog

I planned to do a "Tardis Big Bang 2" review post, but as I haven't got around to it since June, it's unlikely that I ever will. So, here's the first of my TBB2 reviews:
Etharei: Guard Them, and Him Within (TW) )
lyorn: (Default)
Note 1: I'm way behind on my reading. Everything I rec here has probably been rec'd all over the internet and back already. But I can live with not being avant-garde. Nothing rec'd for TW here considers Series 3 yet.
Note 2: If you want ratings, or warnings for spoilers or anything else, you'll find them on the fic.
Note 3: Spoilers for the stories should be masked out in pale grey. If you see this sentence, it did not work.. Highlight to read.

***


Top of the heap

This was hard to decide this time, because I had not clear favourite. I went with the story that has the most meat.

Madder Rose: Jack Harkness, Super Temp (TW) )
***


Recommended

Neadods: The Amazing Team TARDIS (DW) )
Honor H.: Man-Whores and Wealthy Women (DW) )
Paperclipbitch: Far Off, Like A Dull Rumour Of Some Other War (TW) )
Paperclipbitch: Whatever Pays The Wages (DW/TW) )
Prochytes: The Persistence of Memory (TW/Heroes) )
Airie: Daemononlogy (DW) )
Cranberry Crash: The Rotfang Conspiracy Files (HP) )
Such Heights: I Heard a Whisper (The Way I Might Have Been) (TW) )
***


Short and shiny

More spicy than sweet this time...

Lizbee: Identity Politics (DW) )
X-Tricks: Days That Were (DW) )
Enemyfrigate: The Phoenix' Nest (TW) )
Sabethea: Being True (To Yourself) (HP) )
***


From the backlog

Tree and Leaf: The Blue Flower (HP) )
lyorn: (Nov09)
I've been reading a lot of fanfic lately. It's too hot to do much else.

Note 1: I'm still way behind on my reading. Everything I rec here has probably been rec'd all over the internet and back already. But I can live with not being avant-garde.
Note 2: If you want ratings, or warnings for spoilers or anything else, you'll (usually) find them on the fic.

***


Top of the heap

Schildkroet: To Wander, Between the Stars (DW/TW) )
Thaddeusfavor: Baron Saturday Visits Cardiff (TW) )
***


Recommended

Salieri: Utopia (FF) )
RobinC: The Children of Time Will Gather (DW) )
Scythe the Wicked: Like Death (TW) )
Paperclipbitch: Acquaint Me With Your Fuck-Ups (TW) )
DK Valentine: Hidden Past (TW) )
JJPOR: Scareship (TW) )
JJPOR: Last Man Standing (TW) )
Antelope: Scratch (TW) )
Odsbodkins: Death and the Definitely-Not-a-Maiden (TW) )
***


Short and sweet

Those have a little less substance than I usually like, but are shiny little things

Penknife: West Palm Beach, 1927 (PotC) )
Eledhwen: Two immortals walk into a bar... (PotC/TW) )
Sam Storyteller: Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodies (SGA/TW) )
Jinxed Wood: Gone Fishin' (HL/TW) )
***


From the backlog

Sam Storyteller: If We Haven't Got Nightingales... (TW) )
lyorn: (Default)
Note 1: I'm way behind on my reading (and it's getting worse). Everything I rec here has probably been rec'd all over the internet and back already. But I can live with not being avantgarde.
Note 2: If you want ratings, or warnings for spoilers or anything else, you'll find them on the fic.
Note 3: Spoilers for the stories should be masked out in pale grey. If you see this sentence, it did not work.. Highlight to read.

***


Top of the heap

Jewels: Potentiality (TW) )
X-Tricks: What Lies Within (TW) )
***


Recommended

Jewels: I Dream of Chcolate Fish (TW) )
Joolz: What Doesn't Kill You (DW) )
Definehome: A Dirty Great Monster (TW) )
K. Haldane: Trespassers Will Be Persecuted (TW/Spooks) )
Doyle: Looked Up in Perfect Silence at the Stars (Classic DW) )
Doyle: The Great Bikini Incident (Key to Time Remix) (Buffy/DW) )

***


From the backlog

Joon: Rock Bottom, Going Up (TW) )
Kali & rm: The Spectacular Catastrophe of Your Endless Childhood (TW) )

ETA: LJ cuts. This has become long.
lyorn: (Default)
Just finished a whole-series-in-one-day marathon with the gang.

Here be spoilers )

12. It was weird seeing the places in Cardiff where I've been two months ago on TV again.

ETA: 13. I am now re-reading [livejournal.com profile] rm's and [livejournal.com profile] kalichan's Harbour because it will make me feel better.
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.

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