| Make it stop! |
[Jul. 18th, 2009|03:53 pm] |
The family next door is hosting a birthday party tonight for their 13-year-old daughter, and they very considerately distributed flyers to all their neighbors letting us know that there would be a band playing between 5-7 p.m. What they didn't tell us was HOW LOUD THEY WOULD BE AND THAT THEY'D START REHEARSING AT 3:30 p.m. OMG, the amps! The drums and electric guitars and the LOUDNESS! The walls are shaking. My bedroom window is about 10 feet from their yard. It's going to be a loooooooong night.
I don't think I'd fare very well in nightclubs or other loud places anymore.
*dons earplugs and closes all windows* |
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| It's a birthday! |
[Jul. 18th, 2009|05:52 am] |
Happy Birthday, dear ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mews1945! I feel privileged and squishy-warm and oh so happy to have spent time with you last weekend. I only wish it could have been a longer visit. I hope this, your *real* birthday, is a fun and wonderful day for you. And now that I've met your family, I know it will be! I wish you joy, today and every day. I also wish you...
friendly slurps
peaceful sleeps
and loving snuggles
♥ ♥ ♥ |
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| Froday poll |
[Jul. 17th, 2009|07:52 am] |
Monday is the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing, and I see at cnn.com that there are still folks who don't think it ever happened.
Poll #1431058 Moon Landing
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: AllDo you believe that man walked on the Moon? |
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| It's a birthday! |
[Jul. 17th, 2009|03:58 am] |
Happy Birthday, voontah! I was so happy that you got to visit Hawaii and have such a marvelous time; what a terrific vacation! I hope you're having a fun, happy day, and I hope to see you again soon! *hugs hugs*
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| Twitter |
[Jul. 16th, 2009|01:35 pm] |
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For those of you with a Twitter account, Astronaut Mark Polansky (Astro_127) is 'tweeting' from the space shuttle, currently in orbit around Earth. Very cool! |
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| Early morning sleepy rambles |
[Jul. 16th, 2009|05:48 am] |
Whew! This is my second day of getting to the office at 5:30 a.m. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be caught up from my vacation, and able to go back to my (almost as early) regular hours next week. I work in a highrise building, and it's interesting being the only person here and typing away on the entire floor! I'm looking out the window at the fog creeping in from the harbor. I wonder if it ever gets foggy on Tol Eressea?
As long as we're back on the subject of hobbits... Rosie is beginning have her babies! Yummy fresh salads, here we come. Let's raise a cheer for that wee 99-cent tomato plant I bought in April!
( Fresh off the vine ) |
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| I'm back! And... fic update, finally! |
[Jul. 14th, 2009|07:12 am] |
I'm back, yay! I'm also exhausted, somewhat brain-fogged, and DAYS behind on LJ. But... what a trip! I was in a different U.S. state nearly every day I was "back east", and drove hundreds and hundreds of miles. (My poor hands and wrists apparently didn't appreciate clutching a steering wheel for so many hours, so now they need a vacation from my vacation!) But visiting with so much family and so many LJ friends (and meeting mews1945, wheeeeee) were priceless experiences. I posted my 'moot report' a few days ago when I was able to get some internet access, but look forward to reading (and enjoying the pics) in any posts of other mootants. And catching up with all of you. *smooch smooch*
And... I finally got a chance to post chapter 12 of my story! That makes me very happy. It's EXTREMELY HOBBITY, with some Aragorn too. My thanks to surgicalsteel for helping me keep an eye on those Elvish healers, and for all Sam fans who've been waiting patiently for the comfort to start... this one's for you.
Story Summary: Frodo is safe in Rivendell, or is he? When one of the Nazgûl makes a last attempt to reach him, Sam, Legolas, and Gimli are also caught in his snare... and Elrond’s powers are tested to the limit. Book-verse, h/c, and plenty of hobbityness (of course). The canon timeline has been altered to allow Aragorn to play a major role.
"Holding Back the Flood", rated PG
Chapter 12: Feeling No Pain
http://storiesofarda.com/chapterlistview.asp?SID=6137
http://thelastship.org/eFiction331/viewstory.php?sid=2630
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4816872/12/Holding_Back_the_Flood |
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| Moot report! |
[Jul. 12th, 2009|04:14 am] |
This is such a whirlwind trip! I've been visiting with lots of family, LJ friends, and have attended a Very Special Birthday Party. I have a few minutes of online time this morning, so I wanted to share some pics with you.
( East Coast trip and Mootage Excitement )
In a few hours, lbilover and I will head back to New Jersey where I'll drop her off at home... then join my family again to celebrate my brother's 34th wedding anniversary. Mom and I fly home tomorrow, and I hope to spend Tuesday resting, unpacking, and spending time with you-all. I may not have internetz again until Tuesday.
All these wonderful memories will stay with me for a long time, I'm sure. :D
*hugs hugs* |
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| It's a birthday! |
[Jul. 7th, 2009|04:52 am] |
Happy Birthday, aspenjules! You've accomplished such awesomeness in the past year. I hope you have a terrific day, and that the weather isn't too blistering hot where you are today. It's time to party!
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| Getting ready for my trip |
[Jul. 6th, 2009|04:28 am] |
Mom and I are leaving EARLY Wednesday morning for the east coast (we're catching a 6:30 a.m. plane, eeeee), and won't be back until next Tuesday. It's going to be a whirlwind trip! The first night we'll be visiting my dad in Philadelphia. The second night we'll be at my brother's in New Jersey. I'm leaving mom there on Friday so I can... drive down to Maryland with lbilover!!! to meet mews1945!!! and a bunch of other wonderful gals for a get-together. *bounce bounce* Then it's back to New Jersey on Sunday to help celebrate my brother's wedding anniversary, back to Philadelphia on Monday, and home again.
I hope to have *some* internetz here and there while we're gone, but... expect me when you see me!
I really hoped to get my next chapter posted before I left, but the hobbits keep talking, and it keeps growing. By the time chapter 12 is posted, it will be the longest one I've written in the 7 years I've been posting fanfic.
Well, it's 4:30 a.m. and I have to go get ready for work. Today and tomorrow are going to be insanely busy, which is why I'm going in extra-early. There's soooo much to do at the office before a vacation, especially since I wasn't there on Friday. So naturally I dreamed about work-stress last night!
*staggers off with a yawn*
*big hugses all around* |
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| Happy Birthday, USA |
[Jul. 4th, 2009|06:15 am] |
How wonderful that Gandalf invented fireworks for all of us! I'll be spending a quiet Fourth grocery shopping, puttering around, and starting to pack for my trip to the east coast Wednesday morning.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
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| It's a birthday! |
[Jul. 3rd, 2009|05:33 am] |
Happy Birthday, alchemie! I hope everything is going well for you. *big hobbity hugs*
Have fun today, but don't wear yourself out!
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| It's a birthday! |
[Jul. 2nd, 2009|04:22 am] |
Happy Birthday, arabia764! I hope your special day is full of everything that brings you joy.
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| I speak my own language, and no mistake |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|12:58 pm] |
We're all munching caramel corn (caramel-covered popcorn) here at the office today, and I'm getting the usual round of discreet giggles about my pronunciation. Last year it was "merry" (which I pronounce "Murray" for some unknown reason), and now it's "caramel", which comes out of my mouth as "car-mel". How about you?
Poll #1423886 Pronunciation
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: AllHow do you pronounce "caramel"? |
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| Michael Jackson |
[Jun. 29th, 2009|12:22 pm] |
I saw a documentary over the weekend called "Living with Michael Jackson", which is a series of interviews he gave in 2002 and 2003. In it, we see how crammed with collectibles and 'stuff' his house was, and we also see him make a huge number of purchases in a Las Vegas shop (paintings, vases, chess sets, ornate masks, etc.) that the interviewer estimated cost him over $2,000,000 for that spree alone.
I'm currently reading a biography of Barbra Streisand, and this quote of hers struck me as possibly true about Michael:
"Sometimes when it's been hard to relate to people, I could relate to inanimate objects. They didn't give me an argument. They didn't think I was crazy."
*ponders* |
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| It's a birthday! |
[Jun. 29th, 2009|04:18 am] |
Happy Birthday, b_briarwood! I hope the job is going well! I'm wishing you joy and fun on your special day.
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| Tolkien in the Land of Heroes |
[Jun. 27th, 2009|07:36 am] |
I'm reading Anne C. Petty's Tolkien in the Land of Heroes, and was caught by these passages. They really speak to why I love LOTR so much, and why I never tire of re-visiting Middle-earth.
"Tolkien well understood that humans feel the need to accomplish something in the relatively few years allotted to us. We seek for ways to validate our lives. This experience can come vicariously through literature, both for authors and readers. As readers, we can be uplifted when characters perform some act of heroism for the greater good rather than for themselves, or when they try to help someone although it may jeopardize their own safety. It doesn't matter whether it's a high noble figure such as Fingon in the rescue of Maedhros or a small frightened hobbit summoning bravery in the face of a terrifying enemy.
We must have both the great and the small heroes for civilization to work at all. Heroism of the small and unlikely, accepting responsibilty and stewardship for life on our planet, is perhaps our best hope for survival in a fallen world.
Fiction such as Tolkien's helps us as readers to find the heroes in ourselves. For some, it's an act of heroism just to keep on living and facing each day's challenges and stresses. Can a work of fiction affect readers to the point of changing their attitude toward themselves and life in general? If it can, then immersion in Tolkien's world should prove inspirational to us all. In Middle-earth, heroic actions are demanded and given, and much that could have been lost is saved, on both the personal and universal level.
The quality of hope is affirmative. It contributes to an understanding of life because in order to hope, you must decide what makes life meaningful in the first place.
Lurking behind tragedy is a reaffirmation that order can be reestablished and a hope that tomorrow the world will be better. It's Tolkien's deep concern for our human spirit that makes his fiction much more than just surface storytelling. It connects us to our emotional centers -- once the emotions are engaged, we care tremendously about the events and characters. As readers, we can relate them to our own lives as well as to the larger events going on in the world around us, making comtemporary metaphors out of his themes and images, in our own land of heroes." |
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| It's a birthday! |
[Jun. 27th, 2009|06:22 am] |
Happy Birthday, dear marigoldg. I hope you're well, and that your birthday is full of joy.
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| Wednesday babbles |
[Jun. 24th, 2009|07:10 am] |
Sleeeeeepy morning.
Friday is our annual company picnic, and I'm signed up for the Trivia Contest. With luck, someone will have slipped a LOTR question in there.
One of my nieces is visiting, and tonight is the Scrabble Tournament of Fierceness between her (a very smart and tricksy gal), my mom (who devours crossword puzzles like mushrooms down a hobbit's throat) and me. *whimpers*
And on the subject of hobbits, which I never really leave, I'm having such fun writing chapter 12. Blankets, comfort, dizzy, drowsy hobbits, blankets, blankets, hobbits... It's just wonderfully warm and squishy to think about. |
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| It's a birthday! |
[Jun. 22nd, 2009|04:33 am] |
Happy Birthday, budgielover! I know you've been through an incredibly busy year, and I hope all your hard work is paying off in every direction. You are greatly loved, and I wish you every joy.
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| It's a birthday! |
[Jun. 21st, 2009|05:52 am] |
Happy Birthday, belleferret! I hope you're having a great trip, and a wonderful birthday. It's *such* fun knowing you.
*big hobbity hugs*
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| Saturday sillies |
[Jun. 20th, 2009|06:20 am] |
"I like Travel Scrabble a lot, Mr. Frodo. Glad I thought to bring it on our Quest, although Gimli complained that there weren't enough Z's for his liking."
"This is fun, isn't it? It should be a great way for Shirebound and her mom to pass the time while they're traveling back east next month to visit with family and friends."
"Back east? Not to Mordor, surely!"
"No, no, it's to someplace called Filladelfya."
"Well, that's all right, then. Your turn, sir."
( Fun and Games ) |
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| Wednesday pollspam |
[Jun. 17th, 2009|09:40 am] |
Some folks need cheering up today, so I thought I'd offer another picture-poll. These are fun! I started out by wondering what an Elf-lord like Elrond might wear as night-clothes (since he's about to be bedridden in my story), and then broadened my pondering to include what types of pajamas/pyjamas might be available for male visitors to Rivendell (or residents) to wear. Care to play along?
( G-rated Elvish Nightclothes poll ) |
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| Hobbitses |
[Jun. 16th, 2009|10:26 am] |
I'm having *such* trouble staying awake today. I need something bright and cheery, something to perk me up and give me energy to make it to the end of the day. What could it possibly be? Ooooh, how about...
( Happy Hobbits! ) |
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| It's a birthday! |
[Jun. 15th, 2009|04:14 am] |
Happy Birthday, baylorsr! I hope your summer is going splendidly, and that today will be full of fun, friends, family, and fandoms-of-choice. :)
*warm hobbity hugs* |
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52 (81.2%)
