Granted wishes insmallpackages
Over at insmallpackages, wishes are now being granted! I've filled a number of requests... and here they are. :-)
Rec the fanworks of someone in your flist.
glitterburn writes for the Onmyoji movies, various other Asian fandoms (including the Tale of Genji), F1, Korean boybands and more. You can find her stories on her LJ, and her non-rpf fiction is also up on her website.
I myself am a particular fan of her Onmyoji slash. Quite simply, glitterburn writes the best Onmyoji fics I have ever read. Her characterizations are wonderful, her touch with descriptions and language lovely, and her stories are elegantly and beautifully crafted. In short, they are a joy to read in every way. She slashes Abe no Seimei and Hiromasa - if that needs to be mentioned, because so do the movies, really. :-)
Sadly, Onmyoji is a very rare fandom; however, it is worth checking out the movies just for glitterburn's fanfic, in my opinion. The fanfic can also be read as original fic, with a little bit of background knowledge that can be acquired through the internet. :-)
glitterburn's stories in other fandoms are also excellent, and worth checking out!
A list of 3-5 (or more, or fewer) links to your favourite blogs.
Here are five fun and entertaining blogs I visit regularly. I also visit many other blogs, but those are more specific in focus - food blogs, for example, or soap-making blogs, or kdrama blogs.
Go Fug Yourself - The Fug Girls inspect the often dubious sartorial choices of celebrities - and do it in such a snarky, hilarious way that I find it insanely entertaining, despite the fact that I'm not actually interested in fashion. Or celebrities, for that matter.
Sleep Talking Man - The bizarre and often hilariously insulting utterances of a man who talks in his sleep, as transcribed by his wife. A current favorite: "This is not a castle without badgers. BRING ME MY GYRATING BADGERS!"
Engrish.com - English gone amusingly wrong.
Cake Wrecks - Hilarious failed cakes by professional bakers. It's amazing how many ways there are to misunderstand instructions of what to write on cakes. Don't miss the carrot jockeys, the hope for sprinkles, and the Falker Satherhood.
Japanese Snack Reviews - Fun reviews of Japanese snacks by an American who's been living in Japan for years. This will probably only interest people who are interested in snacks, but, uhm, I'm going to assume that it's not only me. *g* (Also check out the same blogger's "1000 Things About Japan" blog! Strongly colored by her personal viewpoint, of course, but very interesting.)
Recommend something for me to read? (romance)
The requester gave several choices of genres to rec, and I chose romance novels. I picked one published m/f novel, one published m/m fantasy novel, and one online original m/m fantasy novel; while not all of these books fall into the classic romance genre, I nevertheless read them all as romances because they focus on the romantic relationship.
To make up for the fact the online story is unfinished, and also just because I could, I added a bunch of other published m/f romance novels with very short potboiler descriptions. ;-)
"The Rake and the Reformer" - Mary Jo Putney (republished as just "The Rake")
This is an old favorite that may be my favorite Regency m/f romance of all times.
Describing the plot will not do justice to the characerizations - but in short: A profligate womanizer and alcoholic (not the cool kind of bad boy) is shaken awake by the death of the man who turned him into what he is, and decides to withdraw to the one estate that is left him, and patch himself back together. The estate has been managed by a very capable person who turns out to be a woman; a bluestocking, of course, and a very strong character. They are both open-minded and unconventional enough to give the other a chance.
"A Fall of Princes" - Judith Tarr
A fantasy novel by an author I have very mixed feelings about. This book is part of a series, but I haven't read the other books in it, and - for various reasons - have no interest in doing so. However, the main characters in this book are interesting, very different, flawed and complex, and have a fascinating relationship. There is one aspect of the book that might offend some readers, but it's a spoiler, so I can't really do more than say that while it surprised me and I felt it was unnecessary, it didn't spoil the book for me.
I'm borrowing the Amazon description for this one: Two princes of mutually hostile lands find themselves thrown together in a battle for survival that forges an unlikely bond between them that could save or destroy both their kingdoms.
"Outlands" - Maldoror (maldoror-gw on LJ)
This is, unfortunately, not a finished story, but a long wip. The author is updating very very slowly, and I recommend not reading the novel if unfinished stories bother you. For me, however, what is already there was well worth reading even if it never goes any further. And: This story is available online! The chapter index is here.
As for the story itself: A Japanese salaryman discovers he has the power to cross over into another dimension, where he promptly runs into trouble, saves the life of a man, and is embroiled in a struggle of the usual epic fantasy kind (which is nevertheless very compelling). The characterization is excellent, and the relationship between the men does not gloss over the cultural differences.
And here's the short recs:
Remembrance - Jude Deveraux (reincarnation!)
Wishes - Jude Deveraux (returning from limbo!)
Until You - Judith McNaught (amnesia!)
The Bridal Season - Connie Brockway (con artist heroine!)
Five songs I love that I think most people don't know exist
Estampie - Disse Mi
Beautiful modern adaptation of a medieval troubadour song.
Helium Vola - Selic
Absolutely lovely adaptation of a classical Middle High German Minnelied - originally meant to be sung by a man, so here it's a lesbian version. :-) Lovely song, beautiful lyrics, and the singer actually pronounces Middle High German correctly (!). One of my favorite songs of all times.
(BTW, Lady Minne (= love) is addressed as a person in Minnelieder, so in the part of the song where the singer declares war on Minne and accuses her of betrayal, the betrayer is love itself, not the woman the singer was talking about earlier. I know nobody cares about this except me, but, uhm. I do care.)
Susumu Hirasawa - ?
I don't even know the name of this song! I got it ages ago because I loved another one of the artist's songs in a songvid, and found this gem. It's a gorgeous (very slightly experimental) pop love song, and if anyone knows what it's called…
Oingo Boingo - Not My Slave
For me, this is a total pick-me-up song. Energetic, cheerful and a little crazy, and I love it. Don't judge. :-)
Kurt Nilsen - Before You Leave
A melancholy love song I adore.
Find them all here - and tell me what you think!
Playlist of things BBC Sherlock would listen to
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Der Hölle Rache, Die Zauberflöte
(Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan, singer Karin Ott)
Something wild, totally over the top, dramatic, beautiful and amoral.
Johannes Brahms - Ungarische Tänze 17 - 21
(Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy)
Beauty, wildness and drama, with violins.
Franz Liszt - Ungarische Rhapsodie Nr. 2
(Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy)
Violins again, and: A high degree of skill in both composition, performance and conducting is required so that this works at all - and when it works, it's amazing. I think Sherlock would appreciate the skill involved, and how it all comes together.
Qntal - Ad Mortem Festinamus
Something entirely different, which I think Sherlock would consider interesting on several levels.
Faithless - Insomnia
I am not entirely sure about this one, but I think techno might appeal to Sherlock. Either that, or he would loathe it entirely. ;-)
Find them all here - and tell me what you think!
If you think it might be fun to rec something, write or draw something, make some icons or a picspam, post recipes or otherwise fill a small fannish request, you can pick out a request here and post your small gift here!
Rec the fanworks of someone in your flist.
glitterburn writes for the Onmyoji movies, various other Asian fandoms (including the Tale of Genji), F1, Korean boybands and more. You can find her stories on her LJ, and her non-rpf fiction is also up on her website.
I myself am a particular fan of her Onmyoji slash. Quite simply, glitterburn writes the best Onmyoji fics I have ever read. Her characterizations are wonderful, her touch with descriptions and language lovely, and her stories are elegantly and beautifully crafted. In short, they are a joy to read in every way. She slashes Abe no Seimei and Hiromasa - if that needs to be mentioned, because so do the movies, really. :-)
Sadly, Onmyoji is a very rare fandom; however, it is worth checking out the movies just for glitterburn's fanfic, in my opinion. The fanfic can also be read as original fic, with a little bit of background knowledge that can be acquired through the internet. :-)
glitterburn's stories in other fandoms are also excellent, and worth checking out!
A list of 3-5 (or more, or fewer) links to your favourite blogs.
Here are five fun and entertaining blogs I visit regularly. I also visit many other blogs, but those are more specific in focus - food blogs, for example, or soap-making blogs, or kdrama blogs.
Go Fug Yourself - The Fug Girls inspect the often dubious sartorial choices of celebrities - and do it in such a snarky, hilarious way that I find it insanely entertaining, despite the fact that I'm not actually interested in fashion. Or celebrities, for that matter.
Sleep Talking Man - The bizarre and often hilariously insulting utterances of a man who talks in his sleep, as transcribed by his wife. A current favorite: "This is not a castle without badgers. BRING ME MY GYRATING BADGERS!"
Engrish.com - English gone amusingly wrong.
Cake Wrecks - Hilarious failed cakes by professional bakers. It's amazing how many ways there are to misunderstand instructions of what to write on cakes. Don't miss the carrot jockeys, the hope for sprinkles, and the Falker Satherhood.
Japanese Snack Reviews - Fun reviews of Japanese snacks by an American who's been living in Japan for years. This will probably only interest people who are interested in snacks, but, uhm, I'm going to assume that it's not only me. *g* (Also check out the same blogger's "1000 Things About Japan" blog! Strongly colored by her personal viewpoint, of course, but very interesting.)
Recommend something for me to read? (romance)
The requester gave several choices of genres to rec, and I chose romance novels. I picked one published m/f novel, one published m/m fantasy novel, and one online original m/m fantasy novel; while not all of these books fall into the classic romance genre, I nevertheless read them all as romances because they focus on the romantic relationship.
To make up for the fact the online story is unfinished, and also just because I could, I added a bunch of other published m/f romance novels with very short potboiler descriptions. ;-)
"The Rake and the Reformer" - Mary Jo Putney (republished as just "The Rake")
This is an old favorite that may be my favorite Regency m/f romance of all times.
Describing the plot will not do justice to the characerizations - but in short: A profligate womanizer and alcoholic (not the cool kind of bad boy) is shaken awake by the death of the man who turned him into what he is, and decides to withdraw to the one estate that is left him, and patch himself back together. The estate has been managed by a very capable person who turns out to be a woman; a bluestocking, of course, and a very strong character. They are both open-minded and unconventional enough to give the other a chance.
"A Fall of Princes" - Judith Tarr
A fantasy novel by an author I have very mixed feelings about. This book is part of a series, but I haven't read the other books in it, and - for various reasons - have no interest in doing so. However, the main characters in this book are interesting, very different, flawed and complex, and have a fascinating relationship. There is one aspect of the book that might offend some readers, but it's a spoiler, so I can't really do more than say that while it surprised me and I felt it was unnecessary, it didn't spoil the book for me.
I'm borrowing the Amazon description for this one: Two princes of mutually hostile lands find themselves thrown together in a battle for survival that forges an unlikely bond between them that could save or destroy both their kingdoms.
"Outlands" - Maldoror (maldoror-gw on LJ)
This is, unfortunately, not a finished story, but a long wip. The author is updating very very slowly, and I recommend not reading the novel if unfinished stories bother you. For me, however, what is already there was well worth reading even if it never goes any further. And: This story is available online! The chapter index is here.
As for the story itself: A Japanese salaryman discovers he has the power to cross over into another dimension, where he promptly runs into trouble, saves the life of a man, and is embroiled in a struggle of the usual epic fantasy kind (which is nevertheless very compelling). The characterization is excellent, and the relationship between the men does not gloss over the cultural differences.
And here's the short recs:
Remembrance - Jude Deveraux (reincarnation!)
Wishes - Jude Deveraux (returning from limbo!)
Until You - Judith McNaught (amnesia!)
The Bridal Season - Connie Brockway (con artist heroine!)
Five songs I love that I think most people don't know exist
Estampie - Disse Mi
Beautiful modern adaptation of a medieval troubadour song.
Helium Vola - Selic
Absolutely lovely adaptation of a classical Middle High German Minnelied - originally meant to be sung by a man, so here it's a lesbian version. :-) Lovely song, beautiful lyrics, and the singer actually pronounces Middle High German correctly (!). One of my favorite songs of all times.
(BTW, Lady Minne (= love) is addressed as a person in Minnelieder, so in the part of the song where the singer declares war on Minne and accuses her of betrayal, the betrayer is love itself, not the woman the singer was talking about earlier. I know nobody cares about this except me, but, uhm. I do care.)
Susumu Hirasawa - ?
I don't even know the name of this song! I got it ages ago because I loved another one of the artist's songs in a songvid, and found this gem. It's a gorgeous (very slightly experimental) pop love song, and if anyone knows what it's called…
Oingo Boingo - Not My Slave
For me, this is a total pick-me-up song. Energetic, cheerful and a little crazy, and I love it. Don't judge. :-)
Kurt Nilsen - Before You Leave
A melancholy love song I adore.
Find them all here - and tell me what you think!
Playlist of things BBC Sherlock would listen to
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Der Hölle Rache, Die Zauberflöte
(Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan, singer Karin Ott)
Something wild, totally over the top, dramatic, beautiful and amoral.
Johannes Brahms - Ungarische Tänze 17 - 21
(Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy)
Beauty, wildness and drama, with violins.
Franz Liszt - Ungarische Rhapsodie Nr. 2
(Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy)
Violins again, and: A high degree of skill in both composition, performance and conducting is required so that this works at all - and when it works, it's amazing. I think Sherlock would appreciate the skill involved, and how it all comes together.
Qntal - Ad Mortem Festinamus
Something entirely different, which I think Sherlock would consider interesting on several levels.
Faithless - Insomnia
I am not entirely sure about this one, but I think techno might appeal to Sherlock. Either that, or he would loathe it entirely. ;-)
Find them all here - and tell me what you think!
If you think it might be fun to rec something, write or draw something, make some icons or a picspam, post recipes or otherwise fill a small fannish request, you can pick out a request here and post your small gift here!