Just checking in to say that I finally watched Born of Hope. Yes, I know it's been out there since sometime last year, probably - but when I first heard about the project, it wasn't done yet, and then I sort of forgot about it. Until it popped up in conversation with illuins_lair a while ago. And I realized I am extremely late to the party - as usual.;)

So... anyway. The film is gorgeous. So amazingly well done and so true to the spirit of LOTR, you can hardly believe it wasn't created by Peter Jackson's team. It's a truly wonderful labor of love... or, in other words, one of the greatest pieces of fanart ever made. Because that's what it is, by any definition. And somehow I think Professor Tolkien would be very happy with it, even though he never invented some of those characters/events. In the whole big discussion on the legitimacy of fanfiction/fanart, I think this film is a very strong argument in favor of it. I can't imagine anyone seeing it and then saying it shouldn't have been made. If that actually happened and I am simply unaware of it - please let me know.;)

My favorite character was, of course, Elgarain (I say "of course", because if you've seen the film, and if you know anything about me and my life, you will probably know why ;). Played by Kate Madison, who also directed and produced the movie. That woman is damn AWESOME. I am totally, like, crushing on her right now.;P Christopher Dane, who plays Arathorn, is also great. All the characters are believable and fit in very well into Tolkien's universe. The story is moving, the costumes and other detail beautifully done, the fight sequences convincing, the music... wow. Just... WOW. A fannish experience to be treasured, no doubt about it. <333

But speaking of fanfiction... I has a rec to share. Midsummer Memorial by geale01. Not for the faint of heart - for it is canon A/L, which, as we all know, doesn't include a happy ending. But it is sooo beautifully written it just has to be given proper homage. It made me cry and cry and cry (and I wasn't PMS-ing at the time, just so you know...;P). It is right up there at the top of my 'best A/L angst' list - somewhere close to Leaves of Gold by lady_elina. Which is really saying a lot. Anyway... you can find it here:

http://geale01.livejournal.com/18779.html#cutid1

As you can surely tell, I am in a very LOTR-loving mood at the moment.:D

So what have I been up to this lovely long weekend? Shopping, mostly. Groceries, toiletries, underwear, sleepwear, shoes... basic stuff, really. I just realized I hadn't actually gone clothes-shopping since 2008 (!). I was so freaked out by the gradual, mysterious decline of my bank account balance that I decided to put ALL unnecessary purchases on hold; but then I think I went a bit too far and ended up wearing stuff that had already started to come apart at the seams. Seriously, I was beginning to look like a hobo.:/ My financial situation is not THAT bad, for heaven's sake. I CAN afford a few pieces of clothing every once in a while, or a new pair of shoes to replace those old black loafers I had bought in Poland about 10 years ago. I kid you not - I still wear them, even though they are terribly scuffed, and the soles are cracking in a few places. The thing is, I LOVED those shoes, and I didn't want to part with them until I found a new pair in a similar style. Which I finally did. Today.:) So the old loafers can be eventually put to rest. After so many years of faithful service, I think I should give them a funeral.:D

Oh, and btw, the "excuse" for most of these shopping trips was trying to find a gift for my dad's upcoming birthday. Needless to say, I didn't find anything that he might possibly want or need - but I found a lot of stuff for myself instead.:) Like those pretty frilly nightgowns, or the fancy bar of organic French soap smelling of verbena. *inhales ecstatically* ;) Not a necessity, I suppose (a plainer, cheaper soap would do) - but a woman NEEDS to indulge sometimes, right? No matter how little money she has... RIGHT?

Also, I have seen some amazing movies lately. I don't feel up to writing extensive reviews, but I just need to mention a few titles briefly before I forget to do it. ( Read more... )

So... my laptop gave me a major scare last night. Namely, a blue screen announcing a "System File Failure" and informing me that "physical memory dump" was "complete". Whatever the hell that means. Oh, and telling me to "contact my administrator" for further assistance. Gahhh!... Sounded pretty much like computer death to me. I just kept turning it off, and then back on, for about an hour in persistent denial, hoping for a miracle - before it occurred to me that I could go back to the initial "boot order" screen and try starting Windows in safe mode. And, thank all the gods, it worked. I was able to use "System Restore" and bring it back to previous day's settings. Seems fine now. HOWEVER... I am under no illusions that this will not happen again. This laptop, ladies and gentlemen, is SEVEN YEARS OLD. It's basically just a piece of junk that pretends to be a computer at this point. It has a 519MHz processor, 448MB of RAM and a 37GB hard drive. That's, like, NOTHING by today's standards. All the new ones start at about twice as much. And no matter how good my antivirus software is these days, the system is going to keep crashing every once in a while. It's simple wear & tear, I suppose. One day it will inevitably succumb to the final blue screen of death. *sniff*

So, my point is, I am NOT going to spend a penny on trying to fix it when that happens. I paid $300 for virus cleanup/file rescue last summer - and how much extra time did that buy me?... Another year?... Two, perhaps?... Uh-huh. I'll be getting myself a new one. The thing is, I don't exactly have big bucks to spend. I can't afford all the bells and whistles on a PC, and let's just conveniently forget about a Mac (which everyone keeps recommending to me, like I owned a goldmine or something :/). I want the basics - but I also want to be able to use it for a good few years (maybe not seven or more, lol, but about five would be nice). So it might not be a good idea to pick the cheapest model (I could get a slightly better version of what I have now for about 300-400$, but I'd rather pay another hundred or two for a good one... if you know what I mean). On the other hand, I'm not willing to invest in some fancy extra features I don't really need. I don't do heavy duty stuff like downloading movies or playing 3D video games. I browse the web a lot, and I want to be able to watch DVD's and online videos in good quality - but it doesn't have to be HD, let alone BluRay. And I don't need a terrifying amount of storage - most of the stuff I really care about is backed up on a bunch of CD's already, and right now my 37GB hard drive is good enough for me. So what I'm wondering about is whether I can get what I need for under 500$, or should I fork out more?... Also, which brands are really trustworthy?... I was sort of gravitating towards a Toshiba, but then I read some online reviews that totally trashed it, so I don't know. Any thoughts/advice/recommendations will be welcome.

I am not buying a new computer yet, btw - I'll wait for the old one to breathe its last, lol. But when that happens - presumably in a not-too-distant future - I want to be prepared. So I don't just sit there biting my nails and tearing my hair out (which is pretty much what I did when it crashed last August) - but instead calmly get up, grab my credit card and drive to the nearest computer store, with a pretty good idea in my mind of what I'm looking for. Sounds like a plan, don't you think?...;)

Anyway... I do realize I have some backlog in comment replies and stuff, but I've been sort of preoccupied with the above.:P I will get there soon, I promise. Right now, it's bedtime (geez!!!...already?... how does it always manage to sneak up on me like that???... *sigh*). Talk to you guys later. *yawns*

So, I just finished reading another book by Tanith Lee. White as Snow. Yes, it's a retelling of the famous fairy tale - but forget all about the saccharine Disney version. Forget the Brothers Grimm too, for that matter. This story is NOT for kids. Just like original, folk fairy tales were not - they had much more in common with cruel myths of primitive cultures, rife with blood and vengeance. In fact, this book combines some old, "uncensored" versions of Snow White with the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone. So the "evil stepmother" is in fact the natural mother - who is not evil at all... just very unhappy. ( Read more... )

I didn't mention it yesterday, since I had planned on posting fic first, but there is quite a bit of commotion going on at my workplace this week. One of my team-mates is retiring - and since they're not planning on hiring anyone new in her place, we're all just gonna be pulling a bigger workload from now on. So, instead of being an "occasional helper" on the stuff she used to do, I will now be one of the major contributors. So there is a lot of "last minute" training going on - for everybody, really, since no one comes close to her level of experience (she's been with the company for THIRTY-EIGHT years; can you even imagine that???... working at the same place for so long?...). And there is overtime. And I haven't even touched my "regular" work in days. And the boss is sort of running around like an energizer bunny, tossing new projects this way and that... lol.

On the fun side, we're doing our best to send her off in style. We had a casual lunch out last week, just for our team; and yesterday was a big party at a fancy Italian restaurant, with the company president, the data operations department head, the HR manager etc. The whole thing took at least three hours, and it was sponsored by the company, so there was basically no limit on what we could order (they pay us next to nothing, but at least we get lavishly fed for free every once in a while... lol). We had appetizers (like shrimp and bruschetta and goat cheese and toasted garlic bread and olives), then we had soups or salads (my spinach salad with nuts and tangerines was so poetic I am going to dream about it), and then we had the main course. I ordered roasted salmon with Sardinian couscous (much bigger than regular couscous, as it turned out, but smaller than orzo), spinach and calamari in a spicy tomato sauce. Mmmmm... (lots of garlic too) And then some people had desserts. I wanted to, but my stomach wasn't willing to cooperate anymore.;) Of course we couldn't have wine, since we were coming back to the office afterwards - but it was a joyful experience anyway.:P Tomorrow is the final "goodbye cake" function for the entire company - with cards and gifts and flowers and speeches and group pictures and all that junk. And then most of us have to come in on Saturday to actually get some WORK done.:P

This is just by way of explanation, in case I get a bit behind on comment replies and stuff. I'm trying to keep track of it all, but the next few weeks might be crazy, and it might so happen that the only thing I feel up to in the evenings/weekends will be skimming flist and reading porn.:P I still feel inspired to write, but I have to watch my sleep schedule (7 hours a night, minimum) or things are going to get ugly.:/ At any rate, I'm always here (LJ-land, that is) in spirit.:D

So... here's the latest RL scoop: work kinda sucks and the weather is lousy as hell, but neither seems to have much effect upon my mood. I am in a good, happy, creative mental place that sort of amazes me with its endless supply of comfort. I seem to be learning a new meaning of the word "inspired". Speaking of which... I wrote a new ficlet today. It was an easy, joyful and extremely pleasant experience of channeling my favorite elf, so to speak.;) I will post it soonish.:)

In other news, the building management is trying to freeze me to death. They don't care how cold it is outside - when the heating season is officially over, it is over, come what may. Last night, I found myself shivering despite a thick fleece pajama top worn OVER my sweater, and my feet were numb inside woolen socks plus big fluffy slippers. I just couldn't take it anymore. So I went out to a nearby pharmacy/convenience store and bought an electric space heater. A little portable one, for about 25 bucks. I will probably only need it for a week or so... but what the hell. It is saving my life at the moment. It's right here by my side, blowing hot air straight at my permanently freezing feet. Heaven.:P

Also, I should probably take note of the fact that after being creative in the fanfic realm today, I proceeded to be creative in the kitchen. ( Read more... )

I might also mention that I finally saw Fight Club. ( Read more... )

So ends my fascinating RL update. A/L to follow within the week, hopefully.:D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, surreysmum!!! I wish you swift, painless recovery, lots of exciting books & movies to enjoy and endless writing inspiration!... (from which we may all benefit ;D) Here's a little visual stimulation to get the muses going:

( hot guys under the cut )

Just a poem today, which I wrote at work this morning. Or rather it wrote itself, while I was staring blankly at a pile of circulation audits.:P

( Am I inspired or what?... LOL )

So... I'll be going to my parents' house for Easter tomorrow. I'm not particularly looking forward to it, since I have to stay overnight (dad's neurologist appointment is on Monday, and it wouldn't make sense to drive back here tomorrow night only to drive back there the next day - it's over 40 miles one way, after all) - but I guess I'll find something to occupy myself. I might actually use the time to go through all the stuff in my old bedroom and decide what should go in the recycling bin - or make a dent in my sister's impressive gothic novel bookshelf.;) They do have a computer, btw, but it's situated in a very "public" area of the house - so I don't expect to be able to do much more than perhaps check my email. And I probably won't be responding to comments and stuff until Monday night or later (depending on what time I get back here etc.).

In other news, we had another company meeting at work this week, and our CEO announced that, financially speaking, we are slowly getting out of the dump and that there will be raises in July. No more than 2%, probably, but we haven't had any since 2008, so we'll take that, thank you very much. *relieved sigh* Oh, and btw: the management of my apartment building did get their act together and send me the lease renewal, only about a month late.:P And they did NOT raise my rent. I think they are very anxious to keep the tenants that they've got at this point, because there are several empty apartments in my building alone. Anyway - there is hope that my bank account will not reach negative balance.;) Unless my car breaks down again, that is - which it hasn't done in a while. *knocks on wood fiercely*

Also, I've added another wonderful recipe to my list of favorites: Mexican Sweet Potato & Black Bean Salad, with chipotle-chili dressing. OMG... yummmm.:D It has a rich taste, with just the right balance between heat and sweetness. It's also pretty quick & easy, as well as equally delicious either warm or cold. Definitely a keeper.:D

Oh, and I've finally seen Michael Moore's Sicko - but I'm not sure if I want to write about it. I would probably end up ranting for hours, and I don't really have the time. ( Read more... )

And one more thing, just to end on a positive note: I LOVE MY FLIST, and I love LJ in general. There are some absolutely amazing people on it. Some of my most wonderful friendships started here, and I can't think of a better way to CONNECT on a very deep level. Which reminds me of this conversation I had recently with a coworker. We were talking about the internet and various ways of online interaction, as well as being anonymous versus revealing your legal name on a public forum etc. - and I said that I usually prefer to use a nick, unless I have a deeper personal connection with someone. Whereupon my coworker stared at me like I was insane. "Deeper personal connection? Through THIS???", he asked incredulously, pointing at his computer screen. He just couldn't fathom what on earth I was trying to say. Well... I wasn't about to go into any details of fanfic porn and general awesome silliness/mental exhibitionism that goes on in these parts, LOL. So I'll just let him think that I am slightly off my rocker. And I will never tell him that my flist actually includes people who have met their SIGNIFICANT OTHER through LJ and are now LIVING TOGETHER as couples in real life, because they first had a deep personal connection through THIS.;) Just saying.

Oh, and THANK YOU for more postcards, dissonant_dream! They are gorgeous. Especially the one from Charlecote Park. Oh, how I'd love to live close to such a beautiful spot!... Damn, I miss Europe so much. Not just Poland by itself, but all of Europe - including places I've never been to, LOL. I miss historic areas, cultural atmosphere, my friends... everything. It's just... displacement syndrome, I has it.:(

Have to go do some cooking now. I might be able to respond to some comments later tonight, but if not, then I will hopefully catch up with them sometime next week. The main addressee of this cryptic remark certainly knows who she is.:D <333

So I've been reading this blog... real stories of women who broke free from religious fundamentalism after years of brainwashing and abuse. I found it by pure accident - the blog's founder, Vyckie Garrison, left a comment under an article I was reading on AlterNet.org, with a link to her site. I clicked on it out of pure curiosity - and ended up getting hooked for weeks, devouring the stories with my jaw hanging open most of the time. I had never even heard of the "Quiverfull" movement - let alone that it was gaining popularity in the US these days. Get it: there are actually increasing numbers of people who willingly adopt a "biblical" lifestyle, based on the "ideal" of the wife's complete submission to the will of her husband, as well as the desire to "leave family planning to the Lord" and have as many kids as the Lord sees fit, regardless of how the endless pregnancies might impact the woman's health and wellbeing. Now, at the time when the Earth is seriously overpopulated and poverty in many countries, including this one, reaches a new low. The mind boggles. This blog is a resource for women who have been sucked into this mire and want to get away, or who are trying to find themselves after getting away - a therapeutic retreat and a warning. Click on the link below to read the introductory post by Vyckie, where she explains how the site came into being:

http://nolongerquivering.com/about/

Alarmingly, the women who end up joining this movement are in no way stupid or easily deceived. Vyckie herself, as evident from her posts, is incredibly smart, thoughtful, well-read and strong-minded - and yet, it took a suicide attempt by her eldest daughter to make her start questioning the "rightness" of the life she was leading (despite her own deteriorating health from multiple pregnancies and lack of proper medical care). The site's co-founder, Laura, is another stunning example: raised by TWO LESBIANS (can you imagine a more open-minded upbringing?...), she still somehow managed to get married to a fundamentalist guy, get locked up in an isolated farmhouse and have 11 children, who then weren't even allowed to see their grandmother until she "gave up her sinful lifestyle". Fortunately for everyone involved, Laura "recovered" (after much pain and disillusionment, of course) and is now happily married to someone else, while both her children AND her parents still have a place in her life. Other stories are less positive in outcome. All in all, an absolutely fascinating read. Sometimes I can't tear myself away even if there is new V/O fic popping up on my flist - and that REALLY is saying something.:P

In more mundane news, I FINALLY found THE RIGHT shampoo for my wayward hair. ( Read more... )