Friday's Open Thread

[hollzilla]

You're free to comment about anything, whether it relates to the interests of the community or not.

Rules

-No nudity, please.
-If you post pictures, please don't make them so big that people have to side scroll. (If you're unsure about a picture, just link us to it instead.)
-No personal attacks.

Comments

[hollzilla]

guys, it's been such a crazy week for me, all i want to do is crawl into my bed and sleep the weekend away

[lyonesse]

call your local humane society? here in massachusetts we just are finishing up $10 spay-and-neuter programming for february at the mspca. your local version may have similar resources too.

go you for caring about the kitty!!

[emily_goddess]

It's just neuters, actually. And it's been extremely successful, if the number of discharges is any indication! (I volunteer at the clinic in the Boston shelter)

But yes, I also recommend looking for a humane organization or low-cost clinic.

[lyonesse]

thanks for the correction -- i volunteer with the farm animals at nevins, sorry to have screwed up the details on the kitties!

[pretzelcoatl]

I started a new game of Mass Effect so I can finally move on to the second game, and then the third. The first time I went through as a dude Shepard, but now I'm going as a lady. I'm not sure whether it's Jennifer Hale's VAing or the fact I've had the chance to adjust to the game the first time I played through it, but it's more immersive for me the second time through.

Or maybe it's because in real life I'm more of a Vanguard person than a Soldier person. Yay destruction!

[laina_inverse]

I always found that Hale did a better job than Meer, but that's my opinion. (And, given I played fem!Shep first, then went on to try male!Shep..... Yeah, that didn't work out so well *cough*)

[pretzelcoatl]

To be honest, I'm wondering how much I'll last. I like Mass Effect, don't get me wrong, but some things are just kind of sloggy. (Mako missions, I am looking at you.)

[laina_inverse]

I don't blame you. I mean I love the Mako most of the time (It's my trundler, because it can go up CRAZY-STEEP inclines XD), but the times where it suddenly refuses to do what I need it to do usually ends up with me getting killed and swearing profusely at the TV.

My reccomendation is take it in small bites. I once pulled an all-nighter to finish a single playthrough, and found that with all the side-quests and missions it takes a bit over 24 hours to finish up. But if you only play it a couple hours at a time and stop when you find it tedious, it helps.

(Addicted, me, noooo.... Skyrim is worse XD)

[hollzilla]

I'm crossing my fingers that you'll get in!

I hear you - I've been reading some of your lj posts, and not being able to walk is frustrating. I have a torn muscle in my left foot that just refuses to heal properly for a year and a half, and I have days where I wish I didn't have to walk at all. I know your situation is pretty severe, but it's frustrating. Please do post pics of your wheelchair, it sounds SO AWESOME.

I know how to knit, but I never was able to learn how to crochet. I'm totally lost with crocheting. Plarn looks awesome, I'll have to check it out. :D

[emily_goddess]

Do you have a rack under the chair? My friend keeps a backpack under hers for storage, and she finds it a lot easier to get at than something hanging off the back.

Plarn is a fabulous idea, but I can see why it would be exhausting to work with. Are you making the cupholder out of it, or just the storage thingy?

[lyonesse]

kickstarter is great! even using a tiny kickstart with givebacks to contributors ("be a woman who contributes video or short film, we'll give you a linkback!") could help with publicity.

bandcamp is a great site with tons of women musicians.

try twitter -- if there's anyone there who's a big name among the people you're trying to reach, ask them to give a shoutout in your name?

good luck!!

[lyonesse]

good luck with your networking! i know a lot of artists love linkbacks because it helps them get the word out too :)

i wrote a medical-textbook chapter on psychoactives (i'm a brain scientist), and the shaman works in a tradition that uses one such, so i came across him while doing my research for that. (the book is "hallucinations: research and practice" edited by blom and somers if you want to read about it :)

thanks and thanks!

[lyonesse]

. my dog is dying of cancer, and even though she's in chemo, she's clearly not feeling 100% and it's awful.

. i'm about to spend an insane amount of $ to go to a foreign country and try to have my (seventeen-year) chronic pain and trauma addressed by a 10th-generation shaman. i am ... just totally out of other ideas, and so exhausted with the pain and intrusive thoughts and insomnia. (and really, i've had a *lot* of ideas. i have a phd in neuroscience and i've been throwing medications, therapies, and life situations at my problems for almost eighteen years. and nothing works very well. this may not either, but i'm scraping bottom and feel the need to do *something*.)

. i am starting to think the major theme of my life is trusting people who then betray me, often after many years. (i'm 43, it's not like this could seem like a one-time thing.) it kinda sucks.

[laina_inverse]

Hugs if you want em?

[lyonesse]

thank you :)