Grand Central Station

Japan needs a girlfriend: Reason #4831

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:23:15 GMT

Seriously...what?! I mean really? Politics are all a shojo high school romantic comedy? That...makes a surprising amount of sense. Haaaaaa.

This might be interesting...

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:30:09 GMT

Yoinked this from tiptoe39

1. Go through your iTunes/playlist/brain banks and find a song that reminds you of me.
2. Comment with the song name and the lyrics
3. Put this in your own journal to see what songs other people come up with for you
4. ???
5. PROFIT!

Windows Movie Maker really sucks up time...

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:49:47 GMT

I thought this would be something interesting to do...and now I *have* to make my word count. ::nod nod::

How To Cook Everything: 10/21/09

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:31:06 GMT

This week we wanted to try something with beef since we hadn't yet. Due to time constraints and last minute planning, we decided to go with a quick and easy All-American combo: steak and mac and cheese. Val used her mothers much beloved mac and cheese recipe, while I took on the steak.

The mac and cheese recipe was fairly simple, involving a sauce of milk, flour, and shredded cheddar poured over cooked elbow macaroni and baked in a 350 degree oven for a half hour. The result was homey and filling, something to curl around on a cold night. And unlike my recipe, you can have it more than once a year without feeling guilty. Next time Val wants to try adding some fresh parmesian and breadcrumbs to the mix, and I think that might be a good addition.

I was lucky enough to find some huge rib-eye steak on sale, so I went with those and purchased a nifty spice mix to make a dry rub with (we didn't have enough time to make a marinade). I was a little nervous about cooking this cut of beef since I've never done it before, so I broke down and bought a meat thermometer. The steaks were exquisite, to my surprise, and not dry or tough at all. I think they would go very well with a red wine reduction, and next time I am defintely taking the time to marinade.

On a somewhat related note, chibi_trillianand I went down to vist skyrat13and genuinelie at their new apartment. Getting down there and back was a pain, because Annapolis is laid out like the crayon-drawn treasure map of a dyslexic child on a sugar high. But we made it, and on time to boot.

They did an awesome job of entertaining, it felt like a very adult sort of dinner party. genuinelies put out fantastic appetizers, including a bowl of green olives stuffed with blue cheese. Now I'll admit: I can't stand olives. Never have, although when I think about it black olives might be the things that traumatized my taste tubs at a tender age. Whatever. I was starving, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a try.

I'm so glad I did, because they ROCKED. I just could not stop munching on them; the only thing that would make them better would be a cold glass of beer [ /butchness]. She also whipped up a fabulous batch of oven roasted asparagus drizzled with olive oil and salt. Mmm. It made me really want to make some of my own, with a hollandaise. Dessert was a divine batch of chocolate chip pumpkin scones. Sounds weird, tastes wonderful. Thanks again for having us over, you guys!

The How To Cook Everything Project: 10/14/09

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:35:47 GMT

Yes, I am well aware of how late this is. I did that thing where I thought I posted, then realized I totally didn't. Better late than never, eh?

So last week Val and I decided to try making a shrimp marinara with thin spaghetti and a side of challah bread (a little odd, but meh). The marinara was very simplistic, and I was good and only deviated one ingrediant from the original recipie. It breaks down like this:

1 1/2 cup diced tomato (we were lazy and got it from a can)
1/2 dry white wine
1 tablespoon minced garlic
dash olive oil
salt
pepper
basil
parsely flakes
oregano
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 pound cooked, cleaned shrimp

Simply heat up some olive oil in a pan, then toss the garlic in and let it sizzle away for a minute. Next add the tomato and the wine, mixing and crushing the tomato as much as you can. Add the herbs and spices to taste, keeping an eye on the sauce and stirring often to prevent burning and sticking.

After a few minutes, use a slotted spoon to mash and strain out most of the huge tomato chunks. Add in the shrimp and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the cheese a little at a time until the sauce thickens a bit. Turn off the heat, taste, add more seasoning if needed, and let it cool and thicken a bit. Toss with pasta or rice.

Let me tell you, it was FANTASTIC. And it's even better the next day for leftovers. I give it two thumbs up.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 07:42:43 GMT

It's 3:38 in the god-damn morning, and I can't sleep.

My apartment is ridiculously hot, I had a nightmare about a swarm of terrible insects with human faces crawling out of my closet to get me, and my brain is buzzing with this white noise that won't stop.

I just want to go to bed.

EDIT 4:45 am: WHHHHYYYYYY CAN'T I SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

Faux-Pas, Johnny/Yosaku [One Piece]

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:46:14 GMT

Title: Faux-Pas
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Johnny/Yosaku
Word Count: 403
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Written for: skyrat13
A/N: It's been a while since I've played in this sandbox, so I apologize if I got them all wrong. ^_^;;

Yosaku hadn’t moved from the spot beneath the tree for ten minutes. The sun danced through the leaves, leaving little patterns of light over his face and glinting off of his headband. He wouldn’t say a word. A cigarette rested between his fingers, unlit, and a far-away expression lingered on his face. Frankly, it was driving Johnny mad with distraction. Somewhere, there was a cold beer with his name on it, and he wanted to get to it quickly.

“Can we get going already? I really gotta take a piss, and I’m hungry.” Johnny fidgeted a little to emphasize his lie. Yosaku never took his eyes away from the tree as he pointed to the right.

“Go over there, then. Way, way over there. I’ll catch up.” Yosaku’s voice had a subdued, hushed quality that made Johnny momentarily forget his pressing desire to get to a town with a bar. He pushed his glasses up his nose and stood closer to his longtime partner. This tree didn’t look so unusual that it should warrant Yosaku’s undivided attention. It had a couple gashes in the trunk, but they were clearly very old.

“Don’t remember?” Yosaku’s warm breath tickled the shell of Johnny’s ear. He steeled himself from jumping, but his heartbeat sped up. “We camped here, way before we met Aniki. It was the first place we uh…”

Yosaku didn’t have to finish, because Johnny’s mind sped up to fill in the details. Blood rushed to his groin so fast that it made him a little dizzy. Suddenly the whole area took on the dazzling aura of erotic nostalgia, and a dopey grin took over Johnny’s mouth. No wonder Yosaku seemed entranced by the place; that was a monumental, stupendous, and ultimately serendipitous moment in their partnership! Johnny got so entangled in his own thoughts that he didn’t see the fist hurtling toward his head.

“I don’t know what you’re grinning about, asshole. I forgot I owed you that for finishing early and falling asleep on me.” Yosaku wore a fierce scowl, and the tranquility of the moment vanished in the passing breeze.

“HEY! I said I was sorry for that, geez, you shoulda taken it as a compliment-ow! Quit it! I’ve made up for that night a thousand times by now. But if you want,” Johnny leered as he pulled Yosaku back towards the tree, “we could make some better memories right now.”

A quick word from our sponsors...

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:36:50 GMT

Ladies and Gentleman, we have a plotbunny!

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:11:49 GMT

Thank you to everyone who gave me a ficlet request (and I am working on them, there are just a *lot* to do) and put up with my whining about not having a plot. You've all helped me out in one way or another, and it's pulled me out of the barren wastelands of writer's block.

I'm happy to announce that I now have a wee baby plotbunny, and at least 3 main characters brewing. For those of you who answered my poll about being included in the book, I have a way to put you in there, and may be sending you "interview questions" so that I may get to know you better. I might also send you a waiver, in case I kill you off or something haha, ahem.

This plotbunny is sooo cute. I'm going to feed it and love it until it gets so big that it swallows me whole and makes me regret ever keeping it. ^_^;;

It's Not A Love Letter

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:43:39 GMT

Dear Heroes;

It was really nice hanging out with you the other day. I know how you get when a new season starts: the build-up, the promise of a fresh start, the ideas bouncing around in your head...yeah, I remember it all. I also remember the promises you made, how you kept promising things would get better, that things would be as good as they were in season 1, or as good as you said season 2 would be. Every time I thought you would tie up a loose end, or do something amazing, you broke my heart and hurt me. And I held on for a long time, making excuses for you and coming back over and over again. But I can't do that anymore, I can't put in that emotional investment.

I have a new love now, Glee, recognize the name? Oh don't give me that "you're just chasing after some hot young thing" line; if that was the case I would've abandoned you for Torchwood or Supernatural long ago. But Glee is funny and smart, enjoys the same things I do and takes care of me. I'll always hold a special place in my heart for you, but we have to just be friends now.
Things look interesting this season, but we have to keep it casual, alright?

Take care, I'll be watching.
Tiff

PFFFFFFFFT

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:29:01 GMT

This was too damn funny to pass up!

Sin Ton Ni Son (Heroes)

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:16:18 GMT

Written for: hanuueshe
Title: Sin ton ni son
Rating: PG
Characters: Molly, mentions of Micah
Word Count: 438
Genre: Noir (urg...I kinda failed at that part...)
Warning: Angst

Sometimes she wishes she was kinder to them while she was still with them. Her Amma shows her old photo albums of a young Mohinder, smiling proudly as he holds up a certificate of achievement, standing straight in stylish suits beside older men dripping with distinction. Molly nods politely at her stories, but the Mohinder in her memories is running around through a tiny New York apartment, ranting about not being able to find the reading glasses perched in his curls. Her pictures of Matt are tear-stained and dog-eared.

That brief time in the apartment wasn’t perfect, but it was hers, and now it was gone. She hadn’t heard from Matt in months, and even a quick call from Mohinder was rare. This was hard on him too, it was all for the best, things were just too dangerous in the United States right now; familiar phrases grown threadbare like the “I heart NY” t-shirt she refused to give up. Only stubborn faith kept the idea that the two of them tossed her aside like a toy that held no interest at bay. Maybe if she’d behaved more, if she didn’t have so many nightmares, if she hadn’t gotten sick, there wouldn’t be such distance between them now.

Molly remembered feeling the same way after her parents died. Matt reminded her at every opportunity that nothing that happened to them was her fault. But Molly could see the pieces on the table: Sylar wouldn’t have come to her house if she didn’t have powers, Mohinder wouldn’t have gone back to work for the Company, Matt wouldn’t have faced down his terrifying father. To think that awful things like that just happened to people for no good reason was unacceptable. The facts added up and bore down on her until she felt she would break.

When Micah asked her to help him save the world, she said yes without a moment’s hesitation. After all, that’s what Matt and Mohinder were always trying to do; it’s what they fought about late at night when they thought she slept. If they could work together and save the people like them, Matt and Mohinder would be so proud of her.

And now the news came that the President was calling a halt to rounding up the special people. Things were getting back to normal, Micah reported. Now all Molly had to do was wait for Matt to cross the ocean, scoop her up in his arms like he used to, and take her home where Mohinder would be waiting with that curry she loved so much.

And he would. Any day now.

Cooking is so fun, cooking is so fun...

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:28:51 GMT

Val and I decided that once a week during fall and winter, we would get together and make a fresh, delicious meal from scratch using Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything. We’ve tried out a few of the recipes in there already, like homemade pancakes and pan-seared chicken with herbed cream sauce, and everything turned out deliciously. Tonight was our true debut, and it was *marvelous*. We decided to make sautéed pork chops in a Dijon sauce and cornbread from scratch (no Jiffy mix here!).

Val decided to tackle the cornbread, and I made the pork chops. We decided to make the cornbread in the old fashioned way, which meant I got to break out the cast iron skillet. She mixed the ingredients (buttermilk, sugar, flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and an egg), heated up a couple tablespoons of butter in the skillet, and when it melted she poured it in the pan and baked it for a half hour on 375 degrees. It came out fluffy and crumbly, but not as sweet as we tend to like it, so next time we’ll add more sugar.

As that was baking, I browned 4 center cut pork chops (with sea salt and freshly ground pepper on both sides) in olive oil, 2 min on each side. Then I turned down the heat and added a tsp of minced garlic and a ½ cup of dry white wine, let it reduce, then added a ½ cup of chicken stock and a pat of butter, covered and let it simmer for 15 minutes, then removed the chops. I made a sauce of what was in the pan by adding a tablespoon of white wine vinegar and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, stirred over low heat until it reduced, then poured over the chops.

I tell you what honey, it was fantastic. Not only were the pork chops juicy, but they were also tender. The sauce was to die for: the flavors worked surprisingly well together, and the mustard was like the high, haunting flute melody over the rich symphony of the other ingredients. And I am not ashamed to admit that we both used the cornbread to sop up the sauce on the plate. Mmmm.

We don’t know what we’ll be making next week, but I’m sure it’ll be something just as awesome!

Now I’m off to work on more of those fics…

Gestalt

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:07:18 GMT

This one is the first one up because I had an idea for it right away, the words just *flowed*

Title: Gestalt
Characters: Gwionn, The Shaman
Rating: PG
Word Count: 791
Genre: Sci-fi (Yeah, I went AU with this, hah!)

Gwionn took his time walking up the side of the mountain, avoiding the piles of natural and man-made debris. He fasted for three days before starting this trek, only allowing himself the electrolyte-enhanced diet water that he bought in the city at the base. The path to enlightenment apparently didn’t allow for impurities of the body. If the rumors he heard were true, however, the entity waiting for him at the top didn’t give two figs about impure mindsets.

The sun was dipping into the horizon when he reached his destination. A dilapidated pagoda choking with weeds and wildflowers was the only thing to greet him. There was the faintest hint of jasmine incense on the wind; tiny wisps of fog curled around the pillars and swiftly disappeared. Gwionn took it all in, then boldly marched right into the center of the pagoda, whipping out the complex PDA Glitch gave him and entering a series of codes.

“I haven’t had a visitor in quite some time. What brings you here?” A voice with the lightest layering of sibilance came from behind him. Gwionn took his time turning around, no need to give off an impression of trepidation. A glowing ball of light was forming into a figure behind him, like a picture that was taking too long to download properly. It finally focused into a tall woman with wild hair, dark-skinned and savage looking yet emitting an air of perfect predatory calm.

“You’re the one they call the Shaman, right? You sent Glitch those encoded messages and messed around in Winter’s dreams?” If he was going to confront this thing, might as well not beat around the bush. She grinned at him as she gave him a respectful bow. Gwionn cracked his neck. “You said to send a rep up here. I volunteered. What’s this all about?”

“Gwionn.” She sighed out his name as if she were identifying him and summing up his existence in a single breath. The sound of it made Gwionn’s eyes narrow, though he struggled to keep a neutral face.

“You are the Guide. Your role is to shine your light on those that would be the heroes of this world and lead them to Ascension. But that is difficult now. The world is turbulent; people move too quickly and do too much. The old ways, and the people who follow them, are dying. Power is easier to attain, and is lost twice as fast. There can be no such thing as Faith in a world where everyone is striving to become a god, is that not so?”

Gwionn could feel his jaw clenching, but he gave her a curt nod as an acknowledgement. Her entire speech left a cold feeling in the pit pf his stomach. The Shaman moved towards him, flickering softly as digital snow roved across her form. She held out a hand, and a smaller ball of light appeared in it. It sparked and spun, faster and faster, sucking the wisps of fog and the dying light into its center and growing larger, until suddenly it popped, leaving a crimson Mac book in its wake.

“In order to be a Guide, one must be wise. It is good to let your wards learn, but when they falter-and they will falter once in a while-you must have the knowledge that will help them to their feet. This holds secrets and information long lost to this time. There are more stories held in here then there are grains of sand or drops of water in the ocean. Any mystery of the Universe, any riddle of Time, any machination of Fate, all of it is here. You can have access to all of it. You could lead them to greatness that could crumble the foundations of the Heavens. Will you take it, Gwionn?”

Gwionn stared at the gleaming laptop, watching the apple logo glow beckoningly. It was pure temptation, having all of that data right there at his fingertips. The things he could do if he knew that much! He started to reach for it, but she tilted her head at him. Her eyes were visible for the first time; they were argent, calculating, observing him with snake slit pupils. It made him hesitate.

“What is your choice?”

Gwionn was halfway down the mountain before he stopped to catch his breath. The smell of jasmine clung to his clothing, and the hum of a foreign lullaby snagged the edges of his hearing. It was a damn good thing he came up here instead of Nathan or Winter. Neither one of them would’ve been able to turn away from that kind of offer. Who knows what sort of trouble they would get into with power like that?

Here we go again.

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:22:09 GMT

Well, I'm already gearing up for Nano. Going for a second win! With something that doesn't suck!

This year *will* be better.

View Poll: Plotbunny Shake! Help me write a story.

Soon as I get a plot that I like.

Bout that time, eh chaps?

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:58:23 GMT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EM!!!

Whooo party times, get down umf umf umf umf ^_^

Joe Wilson's Emo Tantrum

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:50:51 GMT

So I really can't stop laughing at this site, which was created simply to take a hit at South Carolinian senator Joe Wilson. His outburst during the President's address to congress (he pointed at Obama and called him a liar) pissed a lot of people off.

I bet he did it because Obama didn't invite him over to watch the pre-season football games, even after he promised he would on Facebook. Can you blame the poor guy? He's probably so lonely; He stayed up all night making little football cupcakes and everything. HE SAT IN HIS HOUSE AND ATE THEM BY HIMSELF, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW OBAMA? ARE YOU?!

[oh man...I almost kept a straight face with that. So close.]

Random Poll!

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:03:20 GMT

View Poll: I wanna be (in)famous!

HEEEY Dragon*con folks

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:07:10 GMT

Ok Dragon*con folks! This is your August reminder post!!!!

The cost of the hotel room is $172 per person. To this please add the cost of parking, with will be $108 per car. So what you do is divide the cost by the number of people riding with you. ^_^
The money is due by August 20, and at this point I ask that everyone try to Paypal me the money cause it makes my life a lot easier.

My Paypal addy is plotbunnytiff@hotmail.com.

ATTENTION DRIVING PEOPLE: Atlantia is yet again doing MAJOR CONSTRUCTION WORK in the downtown area. It behooves you to google-fu the construction schedule before you leave in order to plan alternate routes.

My Letter to the NAACP re: Avatar

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:15:18 GMT

Dear Mr. Bulluck

I am writing you today in response to several racially charged issues with the upcoming The Last Airbender film, directed by Mr. M Night Shyamalan. This film is based off of the popular Nickelodeon animated television show Avatar: The Last Airbender. One of the primary reasons this show was as big of a hit as it was (aside from the engaging characters, well-rounded storyline and beautiful animation style) is because the creators of the show paid careful and loving homage to Asian culture in every aspect of the show’s development.

Every detail, from the character designs to the settings, even the primary philosophies that are the foundations of the show’s message, are all based on mixes of several different Asian cultures from Inuit to Chinese to Indonesian. In fact, the four main characters of the show were wonderfully diverse: Two characters, Sokka and Katara are dark-skinned and based on the Inuits, the villain, Zuko, has prominently Japanese features, and the lead character, Aang, is modeled after Tibetan monks.

That is why I find it heartbreaking and infuriating that when it came time to cast the actors for the live action film, the casting director initially chose four Caucasian actors to play the lead roles, relegating Asians and other POC to secondary and background roles. This has caused an uproar in the Avatar community, because it’s insulting to push the belief that in order for this movie to be successful, the main characters have to be white-washed.

We (and by that I mean the fans) expressed our dismay to the production company. Their response to this blatant yellowfacing was to replace one of the Caucasian actors (Jesse McCartney) who was slated to play the villain of the piece, with Dev Patel, the lead actor from Slumdog Millionaire. Suddenly, the pale Japanese villain of the show (and the rest of his countrymen as well) are now of Indian/Pakistani decent. This only plays into the “dark people are naturally evil” stereotype, and doesn’t even come close to fixing the original issue.

There is simply no good reason why the casting call could not have found suitable and talented actors of the correct ethnicity to fill those roles. There are arguments that they needed big name talent to bring people into the theatre. Untrue. The boy playing the lead role is Noah Ringer, a 12 year old national martial arts champion who had to take acting classes during the shooting of the film. There are so many Asian actors who never got the chance to play in a role meant for them because the casting director specifically headhunted Caucasian young people.

As an African-American, I could easily dismiss these issues as irrelevant to me. I am no Asian, Indian or Pakistani. I could simply not see the film and keep my hard earned money in my pocket (which I plan on). But I have a healthy respect and admiration for Asian culture, and this Hollywood slap to Asian-Americans resounds within me as well. This sends the message to young people everywhere that in order to really be a hero and save the world (according to movies) you have to be white. This also spreads the belief that audiences can’t stomach an Asian hero in anything but a “kung-fu” flick.

It’s the same “default white” moviemaker mentality that has producers asking Neil Gaiman, the author of Anansi Boys, if they can take his novel based around the legendary Anansi from African legend and make a film. However, they wanted to make all the characters white, or barring that if they can remove all elements of magic from the book (Mr. Gaiman thankfully declined the offer).

There are several websites and movements working hard to bring an end to this sort of blatant racist casting, and I believe the NAACP can join the Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA), The East West Players (EWP), as well as the multitude of fans of all races at www.racebending.com to help bring a halt to future travesties like this one.

Included with this letter, I am also faxing a copy of the racebending.com press release and a study about the effect of racial discrimination on the mental health on young children for your review. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my letter, and please continue your dedicated hard work towards making Hollywood a fair and balanced place for actors of all diversities.

Sincerely,

Tiffany Simmons

plotbunnytiff@gmail.com

OMG SHOCK

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:34:04 GMT

Your result for Roleplayer Test!...

The Shipper

Random, Character-Oriented, Sexual

As a Shipper, your focus in roleplay is romantic and sexual tension. It could be a certain ship or a variety of ships, but character relationships (and not the friendship kind) are what make roleplay fun for you. However, it's not necessarily sex: unlike the Smutfic, you're more interested in how and why and how your characters change and develop before they "get anywhere" rather than whether or not they actually do. You like to develop characters as much as possible, but often forget that any unrelated outside plot exists; you also tend to empathize with your characters a little too much: when things start going badly IC, it tends to mess with your OOC emotions.

Take Roleplayer Test! at HelloQuizzy

This looks like such fun

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:35:41 GMT

❝who do you ship me with?❞
❥ comment with your username!
❥ reply to others' threads with who you ship them with! it can be a character, a celebrity, another user, yourself, etc. etc.
❥ no wanking allowed >8(
❥ anonymous commenting is enabled, IP logging is disabled.

Go for it. Be as lulzy as you like.

Ooo this sounds like fun guys!

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:52:19 GMT

In this post, talk with your icons, and only your icons. Post early, post often, and respond to whomever you want. Just leave a dot or a dash in the comment field if eljay tells you can't post a blank comment.

Hmm...

Fri, 15 May 2009 14:17:31 GMT

Your results:
You are Deanna Troi

Deanna Troi		85%
Uhura		70%
James T. Kirk (Captain)		60%
Will Riker		60%
Geordi LaForge		50%
Chekov		45%
Beverly Crusher		45%
Spock		42%
Jean-Luc Picard		40%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt)		35%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)		30%
Data		27%
Mr. Scott		25%
Mr. Sulu		25%
Worf		20%

You are a caring and loving individual.
You understand people's emotions and
you are able to comfort and counsel them.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:40:24 GMT

Happy Birthday genuinelie !

And remember, now matter how old you are, I'll always be younger than you. <333333