I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince tonight. No, wait, that is misleading. I re-finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince tonight. There, that's better. It was very good, and I enjoyed it. I even teared up a few times towards the end.

Didn't do much else of note. No writing (sad day), but I played some WoW and got my rogue up to almost 38, which is like seven levels in one night, so that's pretty exciting.

I'm trying to decide on a new book to read. I could go straight into the last Harry Potter, which I read the day it came out in a sleep-deprived haze and therefore barely remember, or I could wait a day or two for the sequel (Ironside) to that fairy book I read a few days ago (Tithe) to come in the mail. Or I could tackle one of my TATP that I've had on my list for years. TATP, for those of you who don't know, is an acronym for Thick Ass Trade Paperbacks. These are novels, usually rather literary, that are, you may not be surprised to find out, rather thick trade paperbacks. There's quite a few of them, and I clunk them all together not because they share a genre or an author or a theme but simply because they are all thick-ass trade paperbacks. I'm talking about things like Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill, The Folding Star by Alan Hollinghurst, and Brethren by W. A. Hoffman. (The last is a bit of an anomaly, because it's much larger than a trade paperback, but it's thick-ass, so I give it the benefit of the doubt.) At Swim, Two Boys is written in Irish dialect stream-of-consciousness, but it's about two gay Irish boys during the Easter rebellion, and it took the guy a decade to write, and everyone says it's amazing... and Brethren is about gay pirates (gay pirates!), but it's self-published and therefore I think probably rather bad. The Folding Star is about an older guy and his obsession with some young kid, which I feel like I know enough to write a novel about myself, but I've read two other books by Hollinghurst and he's great. I could also read Faggots by Larry Kramer or The Road by Cormac McCarthy or Orlando by Virginia Woolf... or I could read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, which looks amazing, but it's a huge-ass hardback (HAH), and not only are its dimensions huge ass, but it's also like a thousand pages or some ridiculous shit like that. I'd also like to read Austen's Emma, or I could hit up one of the fantasy novels I've been sitting on, like Aquamarine by Mel Keegan or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Gaiman's Stardust.

(The sad thing is I've tried reading about 80% of these books already, multiple times even!, picking them up, reading a chapter or two, and then putting them down forever. In fact, that is another requirement of being a TATP... the fact that I've tried, unsuccessfully to read it at least two or three times already.)

Any suggestions?

My icons of Mila Kunis for round 20 at celeb20in20.

Teaser:



( mirrors and cameras, so many beauty queens... )

...Is roughly in the same place as the Dalai Lama.  ;)

And by all means let me know who your dot's by!


Edit:  I'm not claiming the test has no problems, FYI...There's the obvious o.O of "libertarian" being the word used as the opposite of "authoritarian", which is grammatically correct but hella confusing.  There are also some rather unclear questions.  But it's fun, and good enough for a conversation piece.  (It's also doesn't claim to be more than that.)

Tiny mom update: Thursday, she was fine--no pain, and appetite is back. We talked on the phone. She is going to have her port flushed on Tuesday and is going to seek out the doctor in search of some pain relievers that will be a little more digestion-friendly. I hope he is sleuthy enough to sit her down and have a chat. Folks, this is the closest we are ever going to get her to visit a doctor. In the mean time we joked about every time I come up she's feeling poorly. We are both hoping she'll feel good this weekend. Maybe I'll stop up today after errands.

Other news: My brain is going to blow from running in overdrive wondering what I am going to do about where to live. My father has mentioned too many times he doesn't want this house. He's also said on several occasions when mom passes the cats go AND the chalet goes, I'm guessing a vehicle or two also. I don't blame him really. He's one person and taking care of two residences is just crazy. Besides, he'd have no fun going to the chalet alone. He's the kind of person that when he's on a roll, look out. So, fuss I continue. Why can I not make a decision to save my life?

yep - this is pretty much spot on . . .

There is a spectator at the Ashes - in Cardiff, right now - wearing an Adelaide Crows jersey.

Right now, in Adelaide, at the Crows game, is there anyone wearing the green and gold???

you realize you're sort of okay with it when you can read his old entries and look at your old photos together and not feel so lost. it's like click, snap right into place. you get it. it's over.

sometimes i still miss him but i know i'll keep on walking, i've always been a fighter, why give up now?

I'm going to start a music blog.

Drug Has Potential to Slow Aging -- rapamycin

things have been getting worse, i can't stop drinking and i've missed a few classes again. i should stop, i know, and it's not good but i'm somehow surviving. a friend who's almost a mother to me found me in the roadside behind the university smoking and dead drunk and talked to me, got me some coffee and sandwiches and waited for me as i threw up in the bathroom of the cafe we ended up in the afternoon. i smoked some more cigarettes and i told her i was going to lay off the weed now, definitely, i've run out of it and i don't want any because i need to get back on track. she said, "please babe, whatever you do, promise me two things." i looked at her and asked, "what?" and she said, "safe sex always, and keep on writing. and you know what you have to do." gave me a hug and we walked back into the school.

i'm going back to the apartment i'm in now, i'm looking for a new one. it's hard to live at the one i'm in right now, plus i'm not even paying for it which is a good thing financially but principle-wise i just can't freeload. it makes me hate myself.

i'm getting a tattoo soon, i'm trying to get the best phrase to tattoo on myself.

a guy friend's smoking weed at his place right now and he's asking me to come over if i'd like. idk. i'm going out tonight anyway and my other friend i'm with, he's got some apparently and he wants to give me some as well. maybe i'll take a last joint of hurrah or whatever. hope the police don't catch us or what uh.

i talked to an acquaintance sort of that i made because when my ex and i were together he introduced me to her, and she asked me what happened and i told her the whole story and well, it seems like the details are still getting left out. and apparently it's my fault because i slept with a bartender after he briefly dismissed what we had via sms. and also i learned that i was just being tested when he did all that shit. which is strange because i have no idea what i've done for him to doubt me that he had to go as far as to test me again. mindfucks suck mind you.

as i'm writing out this text my friend just cancelled on me. i think i'll just go to the other guy's house. i'll keep safe, no worries. you guys do too.

I forgot one surgery, my wisdom teeth were taken out (I was put to sleep), so I'm actually going into my SEVENTH surgery. XD That is funny.
Dunno how I forgot that one. *shrugs*
Oh well.

Aside from that: Who has read the whole Twilight Series?
Don't freak out, I'm not a rabid fan, I'm not much a fan at all, I just have a few questions about something I wrote for a competition (fanfic/essay on Twilight). I want some body to read it and see if it makes sense to them and hopefully give me some pointers.

Also, I have a confession; I'm scared to type up things on here. Is that normal?

I went to see Moon tonight with lameautarch. It is definitely a mindfuck. Also, serious science fiction fans will enjoy it. It's vaguely reminescent of 2001.

I hadn't heard of it before today, but it seems to be getting good reviews.

I've mentioned Ms. Owl's School of Frights before (My newest concept, the one that pushed all my other creations aside). Well, the main character is giving me issues. She doesn't even have a name yet, but we'll call her OC for the purpose of this entry.

Anyways, I ran OC through the Mary Sue Litmus Test and got a "-2" score. A negative. I can't decide if that's good or bad.  It's good because she has no spectacular qualities, nor can I relate to her in any way. It's bad because she has no spectacular qualities, nor can I relate to her in any way.

I think I might have tried a bit too hard to make this character both uninteresting and the polar opposite of me, all in fear of creating a sue (not sure why I'm suddenly afraid of making one, I think the whole Twilight madness traumatized me as a writer). Considering I want this to be a first-person narrative, writing from her view point is going to be a challenge. 


*EDIT* Her name is now Sarah, as suggested by a friend here in the dorms. I like it.

Originally published at Elizabeth Genco. You can comment here or there.

Today I finished the 1st draft of my next graphic novel, THE KISS, which will be serialized over on Tor.com starting in 2010, most likely. Artist will be John Bivens (@John_Bivens), affectionately known around these parts (and my script) as Mr. B.

I daresay that finishing up this particular milestone (the book is far from finished; indeed, one might say we’re just getting started) brings with it a certain amount of reflection…

We make frequent trips to Portland (it being Leland’s stomping ground and all), and of course, when in Portland, we always hang at Periscope. I can’t remember how the discussion got started, but, during one visit, a bunch of us were sitting around, talking about, well, bad comics. (Now there’s a shocker.)

One of the artists (who shall go nameless) had been asked to draw a short story for a particular project (which shall go nameless). Said artist is Really Good. “Would you draw this story by so-and-so for thus-and-such?” s/he was asked.

Really Good Artist took a look at the story, then politely declined. This person was, shall we say, underwhelmed at the quality of the story and the writing.

“Some stuff just isn’t worth drawing.”

Harsh? I don’t think so.

Here’s the thing. You know that story you’re writing? That 2,000-page epic you’re in love with because it features drunken dinosaurs and Jack The Ripper and kickSPLODE and martians in tuxedos and in-jokes about monster movies from the 50’s and Jazzercize and a gummy bear factory and the dancing hamsters and a plague of locusts and Don Knotts and did I mention kickSPLODE! and gosh darn it all, you’re so clever… You know, that one?

In order to bring this dizzying vision of yours to life, some guy or gal out there, probably several, with things like pencils and brush pens and Wacom tablets and (if they’re old skool like my husband) Ames lettering guides and Photoshops (and perhaps really bad Mexican food and No-Doze) has to spend hours of his/her/their life illustrating the damn thing.

There’s a good chance it’s not worth their time.

I’m not hatin’, I’m just sayin’.

Luckily, my story does NOT have Don Knotts. That doesn’t mean I don’t think about these things. And if you’re a writer who wants to bring The Awesome into the world instead of The Suck, you will too.

Like I said, a time of reflection.

“Cranky old woman” moment over. ‘Night.

(C’mere, kid, let me tell you about my new[-ish] “no crap!” policy… it’s inspired by Frank Miller…)

yesterday when i went to the store with my mom (the Anderson's) i went to the pet row . they have some pets. i looked at the mice, they are feeders. and one was dead. i was kinda upset about that. i told the store person to remove it. and the rats were housed with the mice. agh. i told the lady that the rat needed to be housed separately. and she says why? I told her that different species of rodents should not be housed together. and other stuff. I don't know if they took the dead baby mouse out of the cage, or the rat. it was a feeder mouse i think,but still that is not right. all the little babies were walking all over it. i would have taken it out myself, but i didn't have any gloves with me. this store is not a pet store mind you, they sell food, pets, crafts, clothes, lawn care, ect.

We're stoked!  We've run multiple test shows this week.  All our equipment woes have been resolved.  Now all we have to do is show up Saturday @ 3:30 p.m. PST.  We hope you will join us live on http://blogtalkradio.com/All_Things_Phantom.  Visit our show page during the show and listen live. 

You can set up a profile on BlogTalkRadio and also enter our chat room live during the show.  If you miss the show, no worries!  All shows are archived.  You can listen on our blog at http://allthingsphantomshow.blogspot.com or on our show page as well.  You can even stream the shows through iTunes!  Such technology wonders.

Below is a promo video.    After our debut show, all shows will broadcast weekly on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. PST.



Cheerfully yours,
Vicki (aka The Phantom's Student)

"The story of Oliver Twist envisioned as a cyberpunk tale."

That's what I got when I was on one of Seventh Sanctum's story generators. I would so totally try something like this. It would be the coolest thing ever if it was done right. The problem?

I've never actually read Oliver Twist. I know the general summary, but...>_>

That's why I'm writing this entry. If I read the book and like it. I'll come back to this entry and take a shot at it.

In other news, I am once again stuck on those darned prompts. I'm not lacking in creativity, but it's focused on another story at the moment.

ETA: "The story of Alice in Wonderland set in a ruined city."

Another line full of awesome possibilities.

I really, really need to get my birth control changed. I keep telling myself to make that appointment but I never do it. NOT ANYMORE. God. Come Monday, I am picking up that damn phone and doing it. I just hope that it will help me.

Anyways, you know how I have been fighting depression, right? Well, there is a chance that I could be actually fighting Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. I've been taking notes that I have these feelings once a month and always a week before my period starts. God, the mood swings. You have no idea. Just today, I went from mad to depressed to content to depressed to SO MUCH ANXIETY I NEED TO PLEASE EVERYONE IN MY LIFE to fine again. I mean, fuck. I can't take it anymore.

So. My one option, after I talk to my doctor, would be switching my birth control to Yazman. I really hope it does the trick. I am looking at other options right now, but I really think that's what I need, if it will work for me. God, here I am, all excited now and soon I'll be frustrated that I finally made this decision right on the WEEKEND. Tsk.

This is not to say that my therapy was a waste of time. NO IT WASN'T. I fully intend to run back there when I need to. It's helped me deal more effectively with these emotions then ever before. I can stop myself from the thoughts before they stop me from living my life. Not that it didn't do that today. I didn't have the strength. I stayed home and pouted and then felt awful for not trying to take charge of this. I was invited for a coworker BBQ and I was so looking forward to it. But then...I just didn't want to go and try. I was sore company this evening and I lost myself in movies and reading to get away from myself.

In fact, the site I am getting my information on, encourages my cognitive-behavioral therapy. That makes me happy.

Okay, enough of me! I am going to go watch a movie and forget my life for a bit.

Jo In-Seong is the guy Daniel Wu wants to be when he grows up. (Or grows some talent, whichever applies.) 

I take back everything I've said about Korean movies that aren't A Bittersweet Life or by Park Chan Wook. 

I just made myself a very yummy salad! I had barely nothing to put on the thing, but I thought I would give it a whirl with a bunch of random stuff. So. Recipe time!

Your ingredients:

• Romaine lettuce


• 1 apple (I prefer sweet over sour)


• Red grapes


• Whole almonds


• Sunflower nuts


• Blue cheese (the chunky kind, not the dressing)


• Ranch dressing

Put this all together, grapes and apples chopped up, and be happy with life. I am. I had carrots in there as well, which you can give a try, but I thought it didn't add to the salad. I was really happy this turned out--who knew ranch went well with everything? lol.