vanillalime

Last week I ordered this book about a plague-based apocalypse that severina2001 had recommended, and yesterday it arrived in the mail:



Great timing, huh? Somehow, I'm not quite as enthused about reading it as I was a week ago. I'm worried that I might need it as a survival guide now.

Also, that B/K apocafic AU I've been working? Not so enthused about that, either. Granted, it's zombie-based, rather disease, but still.

Like everyone, I have been especially disturbed by the speed in which everything has happened. Here in Michigan, my family's life has been upended in about a dozen significant ways since Wednesday morning, but I know it's nothing worth complaining about. We're all healthy (for now) and that's what important. Although I do worry about my elderly parents, who don't seem to fully realize the gravity of the situation. (I told them not to leave their house, and they thought I as joking.)

Stay safe, my friends. ♥

So, I don't usually post personal things here, but I'm so proud I could burst and thought I'd share!

Today, my oldest child graduated from Michigan State University (a semester ahead of schedule!) with a BA in Criminal Justice (shout-out to suespur!). Here's a photo of us taken on campus after the ceremony (the hockey arena and football stadium can be seen in the background).



Next stop: law school! (Exactly where still to be determined; hopefully it's someplace that offers him a good scholarship. LOL)

In general news, I've been super-busy being super-creative, and I am having a ton of fun with it, but I haven't had much time to check into LJ! Hope everyone is well and enjoying the holiday season! ♥

A rundown on what is Going On.

Television
Homicide: Life On the Street: I just finished Season 4! Although I was sad when I realized that Ned Beatty and Daniel Baldwin had left the show, I really liked the new Mike Kellerman character they brought in, once I got over the fact that he was played by the same actor (Reed Diamond) who played the sadistic plantation owner in Meloni's "Underground" series. The stories, writing, characters, and acting are just so, so good. This season had meaty guest appearances by JK Simmons (playing a neo-Nazi, what a surprise!) and Terry Kinney, as well as recurring appearances by Zeljko Ivanek, Kristin Rohde, Granville Adams, and Sean Whitesell.

Reading
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero: I was so intrigued by the_emu's review of this adult book (sort of a "members of a Scooby Doo-like gang grow up into completely dysfunctional adults haunted by their mystery-solving memories"), that I went ahead and bought it. I'm about a third of the way through it, and IT IS AWESOME. I don't read enough, and this book is making me wish I did more. I'd forgotten how great it is to curl up on the couch and read, especially when....

Weather
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD WHEN WILL IT STOP SNOWING. Seriously, yesterday was the first day in a long time where we didn't get any snow here in lower Michigan. It feels like I've been stuck inside since Halloween. On Tuesday, I woke up to nearly an inch of snow covering the ground (although it melted pretty quickly). It's been like some bizarre never-ending winter. I think this is how Narnia felt under the White Witch's spell. Supposedly, it's going to get nice for the weekend, but I WILL BELIEVE IT WHEN I SEE IT.

Writing
My big, long, epic Oz story: So, I started it. And, like I feared, it's going slow. But it's going! I wrote the first two scenes, which were basically just to establish the setting (i.e., mood/timeframe), and it took 2,400 words. LOL. I did take a lot of time to make it complete and polish it and feel comfortable with it, because I figure I need to get that beginning right so that the actual story has something decent to build from (and, hopefully, prevent me from getting so discouraged that I abandon the whole thing). Maybe the words will come a little quicker now that I'm moving toward the actual plot. *fingers crossed* I also did some poking around and found a really great Samuel Johnson quote that I think would fit in perfectly as the ending line for the story (or maybe the beginning). The quote has also inspired the story's tentative title. AND I also made some screencaps to use to maybe make a graphic to accompany the story.

I think this is what you might call "procrastination." :D

My fascination with the hedonistic late '70s continues! I've just come across a collection of photos of the infamous Studio 54 nightclub that was recently posted by Buzzfeed, and it's pretty amazing:

29 Pictures That Show Just How Insane Studio 54 Really Was

My first impression? SO MANY NIPPLES. Several topless women are included in the pictorial, so definitely NSFW.

Viewing these photos reminds me of the awesome fic Night Fever, written for me by pride_of_erin in response to my oz_magi wish for a B/K 1970s AU. Her story is deliciously decadent and so, SO good. If you didn't get a chance to read it before, you should RUN, not walk, over to Magi and read it NOW. In addition, mazephoenix wrote the wonderful porny Magi "treat" Disco Inferno 77 based on my prompt.

Also? Here is a handy instructional video that teaches you how to dance The Hustle:



Now, pardon me while go search for my Bee Gees Greatest Hits CD!

In a week full of immenient gloom and doom, I'd like to thank "Evans John" for giving me the laugh of a lifetime. I cannot wait to work the phrase "super driver on top" into the next bit of porn I write.

Very helpful! Sounds like Trump wrote this.

And I'm not one to use that word indiscriminately.

I keep telling myself NOT to look at the big picture right now. To get through this, I need to focus instead on other, specific things. Good things.

It's not like someone died. My family, the most important thing in the world to me, is still healthy and happy (last night notwithstanding).

Thanksgiving is coming up quickly, and that's always fun. Hopefully, no one will want to talk about the election by that point.

The University of Michigan's football team is 9-0, and they'll probably be undefeated going into the big game against Ohio State on Thanksgiving weekend. It's amazing how far Jim Harbaugh has brought the program in just two years.

HOCKEY.

I've been hearing some good things about "The Crown" on Netflix. I think I'll be checking that out. I know I need to stop watching MSNBC and CNN for a while.

Skimming through the old master lists for spook_me last week, I discovered a 16,000-word B/K apocafic written by severina2001 that I didn't know existed. I've been looking forward to taking some time out to leisurely read through it. I think that time is today. (Apocafic seems oddly appropriate. It's gotta be worse than reality, right?)

OZ MAGI.

A new year. And, most likely, the world isn't going end.

I would like to encourage people to take a couple of minutes to read this story or watch the video from the CBS Evening News about a Vietnam War veteran named John Colone. John is a neighbor of mine, and he is an amazing person. I'm so pleased to see his story receiving national attention.

Vietnam soldier saved from the dead honors his fellow veterans

Jesus, this race for the Republican nomination for president is just so bizarre. I just can't believe the shit that is going on between these crazy idiots. And while I generally don't post about this kind of stuff here, there was a new incident of mind-boggling absurdity that I actually related to fandom. So!

Marco Rubio, an actual member of the United States Senate, made these comments at a campaign rally in Salem, Virginia last night:

In response to [Donald Trump] calling him “little Rubio,” Rubio conceded that Trump was taller than him. However, the Florida senator suggested Trump had small hands for his height.

“And you know what they say about guys with small hands,” Rubio said with a smile, prompting stunned laughter from the crowd.

After a brief pause he added: “You can’t trust ‘em!” The crowd responded with applause.

YES, that's right... Marco Rubio implied that Donald Trump shouldn't be president BECAUSE HE HAS A SMALL DICK. And NOT, you know, because he is a insane narcissist with no principles who is working to destroy everything that this country stands for. Good God.

American politics has sunk to THIS level. And THIS is the kind of crap that people on the Republican side of the fence are responding to.

However, part of me is giggling uncontrollably, as I keep thinking back to my "Dick Measuring Contest" prompt from this year's oz_magi exchange. Having such a contest in Oz is one thing; using it as a determining factor in a U.S. presidential election is another.