Insomnia..
Apr. 24th, 2005 01:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fajrdrakoI made a mistake yesterday. When I went to Ikea with
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
maaseru and Donna, I had the $1.00 Ikea breakfast. Not a problem in itself - though maaseru has had the breakfast in Vancouver, Montreal and Washington and says the Ottawa one was the worst. No bacon. My eggs were cold. And the clincher - no decaff coffee.See, I like decaff coffee. Since I went on the South Beach Diet, decaff coffee is the only kind I can have. I don't consider it a hardship - it's a preference - but Ikea didn't have decaff. They had Sanka, which doesn't even count. It's undrinkable, in my opinion.
So I said 'what the heck' and drank a cup and a half of real coffee that
maaseru and Donna said was weak. I enjoyed it.Then last night, I wasn't tired. I was writing till midnight, playing games till one. Went to bed, still not tired. Tried to sleep - didn't work. Sat up and started reading fanfic. Read lots and lots of fanfic - those piles that have been sitting by my bed for a couple of years, along with the backlog of comics and the 'to be read' pile of books. This is why I have a bookcase in my bedroom, handily beside the bed.
Some of the stories were fragments, without beginnings or endings, because pages were lost. Many were fragments because they were short ficlets, usually making up in style what they lacked in substance - many of these being Pirates of the Caribbean stories. A few were things I'd read before, like the wonderful Smallville slash story where Lex takes Clark to a strip joint - er, gentleman's club - in Metropolis on a Sunday night. So why can't I recall title or author? Because I have a lousy memory for even stories I love and because I read it last night at 3 a.m. when my brain, though wide awake, wasn't sharp; and because my previous reading of it was two years ago. But I would like to remember the good ones.
I discovered a story by
seperis that I'd somehow missed, and it was wonderful: Softer Than the Rain. There was a story by an author I haven't read much of and know I should read more of - judging by the quality of this one, anyway. The author is Emerlin (does she have an LJ?) and the story is Before the Songs Were Made. I also found a quirky story by Illuferret, whose odd tales I rather like, this one being Pretty is as pretty does, which has a few good lines, like, "Why can't I be punished like your other lovers?" and "Lex wants to complain that this breaks the 'no sex' rule, but, what the hell? Rules are meant to be broken, anyway."
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-04-24 05:25 pm (UTC)Thank you for the unknowing compliment!!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-24 05:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-24 06:02 pm (UTC)I sat up and read Hornblower. C S Forester, not fanfic. :)
no subject
Date: 2005-04-24 09:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-24 11:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 01:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 01:54 am (UTC)I'm never going to touch coffee with caffeine again!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 01:56 am (UTC)At some point - when I've saved up enough money to go to Malta - I plan to buy a good laser printer and print out all the stories I want.
And yes, it's really fun to have this backlog of printed stories sitting on my shelves for times like last night when I want something to read and they're there, waiting for me.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 02:00 am (UTC)You bet he is. But really, if I told you all Lex's good points, I'd be writing quite a monograph here. Lex is a fencer - and, in fact, was fencing in the episode that came out ten days ago. He also quotes classical history, and poetry, and Shakespeare. He's devious and takes risks to protect others and doesn't reveal what he knows. He doesn't excuse or explain himself. He observes and makes long-range plans.
He's also, in my opinion, incredibly sexy. But I'm biased.
I look forward to hearing your reactions to Smallville.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 02:09 am (UTC)http://seacouver.slashcity.net/illuferret/pretty.html. Her main page is at http://seacouver.slashcity.net/illuferret/index.html#smallville. My favourite of her stories is "Blue Turk", which I found at http://seacouver.slashcity.net/illuferret/blueturk.html.
There are some of my other favourite Smallville stories that have become hard to find - including your "A Nice Friendly Game", which is no longer at the site I originally found it. Is it still online somewhere? It's my favourite Smallville story of all time.... No, wait a minute, I just found it again with Google at http://koimistress.illuminatedtext.com/game.html. You don't need to answer my question!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 02:10 am (UTC)He's also, in my opinion, incredibly sexy.
You had me at "quotes classical history". The way to my heart is through Tacitus, it really is. (Actually I was pretty much convinced with the fencing, but whatever.)
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 02:19 am (UTC)Lex is misjudged and mistrusted by many, and he never tries to justify himself. Effete? Definitely. Expensive sober clothing and flashy expensive cars.
Lymondesque? I leave you to judge. Let's just say that some of Lex's appeal to me is delightfully similar to Lymond's appeal.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 02:30 am (UTC)Ah, well, it's prior knowledge, although not of Lex-- of the archetype in general. It's usually pretty similar no matter what the story. Again, don't interpet that as a complaint, because it sure as hell isn't. By any stretch of the imagination. Although the cars thing is new.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 02:33 am (UTC)I agree about the archetype, and that's it's a good thing. As for the cars - Lex keeps them shiny and drives them recklessly. Hence his entry into the story. You'll see.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 01:59 pm (UTC)::much eyebrow-waggling, in anticipation::
Have you ever noticed that putting off really good media is an extremely pleasurable thing? Like looking really good chocolate but not eating it just yet, or a gorgeous person you could have at any time? It's almost the same, visceral sensation... something physical and intellectual both.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 02:04 pm (UTC)Oh, yes, definitely! Sometimes to the extent where I will put off reading or viewing something I know I will love, just to sustain the anticipation. I'm doing that right now with Lois McMaster Bujold's "Winterfair Gifts", in the same volume as Jo Beverley's new prize-winning story. I'm eager to read both - but enjoying the pleasure of knowing they are there.
After our exchange, I worried that you won't see in Lex the things I see in Lex - the things that are so obvious to me! We shall see.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 02:09 pm (UTC)::can't stop laughing:: Oh, I'm pretty damn sure it won't be a problem.
You know, I haven't read Bujold, although I've heard a lot about her. Is she really that good? What should I start with?
Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-25 02:37 pm (UTC)Well... considering what excellent taste you have in heroes, I probably shouldn't worry.
I haven't read Bujold, although I've heard a lot about her. Is she really that good?
Yes. Or better. The best. A science fiction writer who can combine style, character, action, comedy and suspense with a deftness that takes the breath away. Currently she is writing fantasy rather than SF, and I've yet to get any real enthusiasm for her fantasy novels, though I may yet. I'm falling behind on the reading.
Though Bujold's writing style in general isn't on the level of a Dorothy Dunnett (for example) she is one of the few authors I have ever read who deals just as well with issues of moral decision and human pain. Her main protagonist, Miles Vorkosigan, is remarkable in many ways, and in many ways unique - a brilliant, vivid, unforgettable character. Not the romantic anti-hero archetype we've been talking about, but he has some things in common with the type. (A brilliant mind, a talent for the unexpected, the occasional self-sabotage.)
What really gets me is that Bujold is able to set her books up to an emotional climax that often relates more to theme than to plot. Those anvil-dropping moments when one character comes face to face with another and the emotional payoff is phenomenal. To be more specific would be to give spoilers, but these moments are priceless and rare in literature.
I'd recommend starting with either "Shards of Honour", which is the first Vorkosigan book, or "The Warrior's Apprentice", which is the first one featuring Miles. (He's in "Barrayar" too, but only as an unborn embryo.)
Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-25 02:56 pm (UTC)Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-25 03:30 pm (UTC)Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-25 03:33 pm (UTC)I'd still rather be in Malta. Daaaamn you! ::shakes fist in impotent jealousy::
Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-25 03:34 pm (UTC)Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-25 03:53 pm (UTC)Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-25 04:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-25 09:12 pm (UTC)Lieutenant Hornblower I really enjoyed, the Bush pov was a clever touch. And I've just been reading The Hornblower Companion, which has some fascinating insights by C S Forester about the writing of the books. The Happy Return (aka Beat to Quarters in the US) is the fifth in the series as it now stands, but was the first book to be written, meaning that the events of the earlier books had to be fitted round what was already written. And Forester kept thinking that he'd written his last Hornblower book and then getting hunted down by rabid plot bunnies. Well, those are not the exact words he uses, but it's exactly what kept happening to him. ;)
It doesn't look like they'll be making any more HH films, does it? I thought I wanted them to, but after re-watching Loyalty and Duty again a few weeks ago, I think I've changed my mind. And no, it's not just the lack of Archie... *g*
You said something recently-ish about going back to the HH films, and focussing on Archie with your new appreciation of Jamie Bamber as an actor. So, did you? Enquiring minds want to know. :)
I have also, of course, read African Queen.
I haven't. Should I?
Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-26 12:49 am (UTC)I know that expression.
It's not just you.
Anyway just thought I'd share the lengths my friends will go to in the name of their fandoms.
Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-26 02:53 am (UTC)My hard drive, I confess, is rather too full of pictures of Lex.
Fandom is a wonderful place.
no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 03:04 am (UTC)Poor Forester - the slave of his own creation! Which is as it should be, of course.
I want more HH films but I think I'm out of luck.
No, I haven't had time to watch HH again yet. Soon, I hope.
Yes, you should read African Queen. Have you seen the movie? It's one of my favourites.
Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-26 02:32 pm (UTC)Have you ever seen Firefly?
Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-26 02:45 pm (UTC)Yeah, me too. My picture collection is not exclusively Lex... but I have lot of pictures of him.
Yes, I have seen Firefly. I adore Firefly. I am counting the days till the movie Serenity comes out.
Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-26 02:48 pm (UTC)AAAAAAAAAAAAH MOTHERLAND!
Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-26 05:22 pm (UTC)Speaking of hotties male and female.... I think Firefly has the most lustworthy women I've ever seen on TV.
Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-26 05:31 pm (UTC)Re: Speaking of heroes
Date: 2005-04-26 05:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-04-26 11:40 pm (UTC)Thanks for the links!
no subject
Date: 2005-04-27 02:54 am (UTC)And you're welcome for the links.