Not being bound by my own self-imposed rules for writing LJ Idol entries anymore, the most important among which being that the entry has to be constructed logically (start somewhere, have some kind of development and some kind of conclusion), I will instead use this final and most recalcitrant of the five topics given this round to do what I have ( Read more... )

Being a writer is like having homework
every night for the rest of your life.
Lawrence Kasdan.

The ultimate paradox of learning is this ( Read more... )

Because this is Home Game, and because the topic screams for it, I am going to do something I never do for Idol: quote a someone else’s texts extensively and riddle this entry with source links ( Read more... )

I have been voted out of LJ Idol, and my first reaction was, "Finally, I cannot believe I've lasted this long in a mini-season anyway", but the second reaction was, of course, a little sadness ( Read more... )

People from large towns tend to look down on those who live in the smaller ones and in the country and call those undereducated mannerless louts many unpleasant names.

One such name, which was popular in Russia in the XIX and early XX century, is "provincial", a noun derived from the word "province", the official small territorial unit of the ( Read more... )

A firebreak is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "fuel", such as a river, lake or canyon.

~Wiki

My mum grew up in the 1950s and 1960s and she is much more outdoorsy than I am.

When my ( Read more... )

A MacGuffin is a term for a motivating element in a story that is used to drive the plot. It serves no further purpose. It won't pop up again later, it won't explain the ending, it won't do anything except possibly distract you while you try to figure out its significance. In some cases, it won't even be shown. It is usually a mysterious package/ ( Read more... )

If, when I was a teenager, someone told me that I would one day be a fan of a singer, actor or writer, and not only enjoy their work but travel far and wide to see them perform, and what's more, approach them in the semi-public setting such as at the stage door, I would not have believed them.

And yet, here I am doing those things and ignoring the ( Read more... )

Nadir in astronomy is the point directly below the observer with respect to the local center of gravity. Nadir is also the lowest point of a person's sprits, or the lowest point of an activity or profession.

~Wiki

Note: the subject of this entry, "nadir" is different from the one I cited in my previous "Join Idol" entry ("First Impressions") ( Read more... )

The original meaning of "sucker punch" appears to be a mean punch delivered in boxing to a "sucker", someone green, not wary enough and not expecting it.

Content warning: weight loss.

I have stayed in the hospital twice in my life. The first time, which I do not remember because I was four years old at the time, my mother talks about often enough ( Read more... )