Magic is in the pen

I miss somebody right now. (baeraad)

Aw. (*hugs*) You can prod me at any time, you know. You may be a responsible businesswoman, but I'm a carefree student. You can pretty much assume that I have time to answer letters and such. =]

I have a secret that I am ashamed to reveal. ('Ashamed'? What's that word mean?)

Having shame is nothing to be proud of, anyway. ;)

I think prostitution should be legalized. (EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK! HEY! I just happen to be a female with dignity, y'know?)

No-one's contesting your gender or your dignity. =]

But I look at it like this: whether it's legal or not, no one prostitutes themselves if there's any other option except starving to death. Making it illegal isn't going to stop anyone who's that desperate. The only thing laws against prostitution does is make the lives of prostitutes that much harder. Can't press charges against a costumer beating you up if your transaction with him was in itself a crime, can you?

I'm not in favour of prostitution or anything, but I would say that the only efficient way of combating it is to create a society where no one ever gets in a position where it looks like the better choice.

Pecked - whatever the hell that means

I think it means the very smallest form of kiss - just the very tip of your lips touching the other person for a split second. The kind of kiss you give elderly aunts, say. =]

It's not such an Earth shaking moment, y'know? It's just poo

(*shudders*) "Just," she says... ^_^;; I'm the guy who breaks coffee pots because I've gotten chicken mixture all over the kitchen.

Actually, I don't think you've heard that story. For now, let's just say that I do not deal too well with any form of icky, gooey stuff... =]

I used to be a BDSM Dom

Certain comments you made in our very first conversation suddenly make sense... =]

I've often thought that I was born in the wrong century. (No, do people really think that? They have no real info about past centuries, then.

I can't say any past century looks very nice to me - a bit too many diseases running loose, for instance, and I've made a worthless peasant. =]

Mostly, I want out of this century. It might be better than all the preceeding ones, but it's still a pretty stupid and melodramatic kind of century.

I have a tattoo. (No, but I'll get one)

What of? :)

A friend of mine is threatening me with dragging me off to a tattoo parlour the next time she sees me. She'll get a feather on her shoulder, and I'll get an inverted pentacle over my heart. I'm slightly apprehensive, because, well, this girl is built like a stone wall. She is totally strong enough to drag me any my flaccid computer-geek muscles anywhere she wants. ^_^;;

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Lord I'd forgotten to answer your posts...

I'll get a tattoo of a skull with bat wings or nothing. This is in the future when I can walk again out of the house without mum, who's a brilliant woman, but not very tattoo-friendly.

Do tell the story about you and chicken poo!

As for prostitution, yeah, I hear you and I know you're right. I'd still make laws against clients. So there! :p

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> This is in the future when I can walk again out of the house without mum,
> who's a brilliant woman, but not very tattoo-friendly.

I'm not, either, strictly speaking, but I'm mellowing in my old age (don't we all? =]). My instinctive reaction has always been something along the lines with "the human body is a work of art and should not be scribbled on." =] But I'm actually starting to think that works of art can, at least, be improved upon. Besides, considering anything to be best in its "natural" form is against my philosophy... =]

> Do tell the story about you and chicken poo!

Hee. ^_^;; Well, it wasn't chicken poo, as such. More like chicken... goop, I guess.

See, the thing is, I've gotten into the habit of cooking really elaborate meals for myself (if I'm going to eat something that's fattening and bad for me, at least I can make it something classy! =]). So one day, I decided on this recipe for a sort of chicken meatloaf - you grind chickenbreasts, mix them with milk and spices and stuff, and then pour it into a bowl and put it in the oven.

Well, the grinding went fine, so I went on to the mixing. In which I employed an electric stirring thingie (I'm sorry for being vague here, I realise I know very few English words that relate to cooking ^_^;). And then I made the slight mistake of pulling it out of the bowl while still rotating on full speed.

Ever heard of shit hitting the fan? Well, it wasn't shit, as I said, and it wasn't a fan... but the physics was pretty similar.

Chicken goop all over my kitchen! On the curtains! On the floor! On the stove! On the table! Everything covered in icky, gooey, messy... stuff!

That was the point where I went temporarily insane and started yelling "AAAHHH UUUUURRGGHHH AAAAAGGGHHH UUUUAAAAARRGGGHHHH!!!!!!" and throwing empty milk cartons across the room for a bit... ^_^;;

I also broke my coffee pot, though I did not, as one of my more smartass friends put it, "go Greek and throw it to the floor in rage." =] I was just careless in washing it, being slightly hysterical at the time. My anal-retentive mind had hit goop overload. =]

On the other hand, once I had calmed down and cleaned up, I managed to produce a very tasty meal... ;)

> I'd still make laws against clients. So there! :p

You know, I believe I can live with that. I have learned to accept the knowledge that my personality ensures that my life will contain less sex than, oh, just about everyone else's. But the thought of some people buying it like I might buy pastries is just, well... adding insult to injury. ^_^;

Seriously, I can't really see the point of seeing a prostitute. It's not to have sex with an actual person - in fact, the whole point is to avoid dealing with anything like human interaction. So as far as I can see, it's like masturbation for people who don't have the imagination to visualise something sufficiently interesting on their own. Pfft. Pitiful, really. ;)

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Oooh, love your chicken goop thingy! What is the word for chicken stuff that gets so goopy you don't even remember it's not chicken poo? *bright grin*

I don't wanna talk whoring again, but yeah, people who say it's the oldest profesion for women to be potties or guzunders for terrified fat old males make me want to KILL KILL KILL KILL

Ahem, make me very irritated.

I KNOW you din't like my Sandman thingie... WAH! *shower of lil fisihes*

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No, no, I loved the Sandman thing! ^_^;; I'm just even slower than usual at replying, on account of having a bit of a flu.

(*dashes off to make the next reply*)

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Do you often sum apples with oranges?

The last time I told someone that something was like comparing apples and oranges, she told me, brightly, "I like apples better than oranges!". That was a bit of a Ponder Stibbons moment for me, as I tried to remember why you can't compare apples with oranges, exactly. I had never really questioned the expression before. ^_^;

Nobody has ever said I'm normal. (Actually I'm surprised by the huge number of people who say I'm quite normal)

Slurs and allegations. I know normal. After speaking to it for ten minutes, I feel myself losing my will to live, or, at least, my will to let live. You're abnormal, which requires a brain and a soul and similar exotic equipment. =]

I was born because the Multiverse clearly needed a clear-headed person

And you fulfil the position expertedly. =]

I have hit someone with a dead fish. (Funny you should ask that...)

I want to hear this story! :D

I do think they've sold their dignity for money

Uh... Isn't that the definition of "employment"?

...

I can't help it! I'm a slacker at heart! ^_^;;;

I play Dungeons and Dragons weekly. (EW)

Don't EW D&D in that hurtful manner! ^_^; I'm a roleplayer, you know. ;) Though my games of choice are World of Darkness ones, I admit. No dungeons, and very few dragons. =]

I've gone skinny-dipping. (Who hasn't?)

Me - but I hate water and hate exposing skin. =]

Ooooh, a H/D shipper are you?

Oh, about that - I've read fifteen chapters of The Shadow of his Wings, and I'm very fond of it, but I think the slash scene scarred me for life. I think I might become an anti-H/D shipper - I will support any ship that means I'll never, ever have to read a scene like that again! =]

(*coughs*) Cranky het person, nothing to see here... ^_^;

I love everything else, though. I love the complex intrigue and worldbuilding and characterisation. It's so freaky to see the WW as a morally grey place with mature themes. :)

But I cannot, even with the best of intentions, appreciate slash. All the bits that are supposed to make me go "awwww" makes me go "*sigh*." And all the bits that are supposed to make me go "hubba, hubba!" makes me go "urk." If you see what I mean. =]

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*butts in*

I've read fifteen chapters of The Shadow of his Wings, and I'm very fond of it, but I think the slash scene scarred me for life. I think I might become an anti-H/D shipper - I will support any ship that means I'll never, ever have to read a scene like that again! =]

Which scene? The sex scene?

^^;; That's...actually tame, in HP slash standards. R-rated, not NC-17, that is.

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Which is exactly why I should not read HP slash. But this one was recommended to me, so I went in against my better judgement. =]

Yes, I'm quite aware that I have only myself to blame.

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Nahh, I think it's great that you're brave enough to try out a new genre.

Maya (

mistful) is PG-13 for the most part. And I don't need to praise her writing to you, I'm sure ;-)

I love her Draco/Cho scene, and there's the cracktastic pairing McGonagall/Flitwick (with unrequited Riddle/McGonagall) too. It's actually great! There's no sex, just how McGonagall as a student crushes on Flitwick, the new professor :-D

It's called "A Distinctly Different Manner of Finding Prince Charming." Summary: A famous duellist is coming to town. McGonagall/Flitwick, G-rated.

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Nahh, I think it's great that you're brave enough to try out a new genre.

Thank you. I've got some kind of bookworm pride thing going. If someone points something out for me to read and I don't read it, I feel like I don't know who I am anymore. =]

And I don't need to praise her writing to you, I'm sure ;-)

No. :)

I love her Draco/Cho scene

Me too, actually. Very hot, without going into specifics. :) It's a pity she doesn't write het more often, she's just as good at it as slash - and het is the one that actually does something for me... =]

It's called "A Distinctly Different Manner of Finding Prince Charming."

I've read it. :) It was really hilerious, too. I still find myself remembering "We don't like the bad place, Nelly" and chuckling sometimes. :D Besides, hey, protagonist who don't want children and do not change her mind - that's rare and precious, that is. =]

And Tom date-rating that girl is quite possibly his most villainy "gaaaah someone strangle the evil little shit!" moment ever, just because it's written in such an undramatic way, with the characters never even finding out just what he's done, even though the reader can guess.

I've worked my way through everything on her homepage, actually. Even, ye gods, Underwater Light, which I didn't like very much but which is a sort of root story for a number of the others. =]

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I've got some kind of bookworm pride thing going. If someone points something out for me to read and I don't read it, I feel like I don't know who I am anymore. =]

:-) Alright then, self-proclaimed bookworm--look over this please: Easy-comprehension Book Recommendation List
Any suggestions to add?

Very hot, without going into specifics. :)

Yes! Exactly!

Even, ye gods, Underwater Light, which I didn't like very much but which is a sort of root story for a number of the others. =]

UL is the bible for any self-respecting H/D shipper ;-)
Do you prefer Quality of Mercy then?

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Any suggestions to add?

Nothing springs to mind that you haven't already gotten down on the list... I would suggest The Wee Free Men or some other Terry Pratchett children's book, but I'm not sure if the language is tricky there or not. Other than that... I don't know, Artemis Fowl, maybe?

UL is the bible for any self-respecting H/D shipper ;-)

Which is probably why it was my least favourite. =] I mean, the characterisation is impressive and all, and the technique actually improves practically from one chapter to another, but in the end, the big question is "will they end up together?" and the thing is, I know they'll end up together, so since I don't get anything out of the erotica (I freely admit that this, at least, is erotica and not porn), it's really just a mass of text for me to plod through.

Though if Flame and Shadow (my favourite Mistful story, as it happens) is a sequel to UL (and it does seem very much like it is), they might have gotten together, but they didn't stay together. I do appreciate that, though I feel kind of cruel for doing so. ^_^;

Do you prefer Quality of Mercy then?

I do, yes. :) That one's very much a character study, not a love story. There may be a love story down the road, but after 20 chapters, it pretty much isn't going to be able to be the "point" of the story, the way it very clearly was in UL. =]

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Ooh! I haven't updated the list for awhile. Forgot that I haven't added Pterry in :-) The language _is_ a bit more difficult though. *ponders*
I don't like Johnny and the Dead that much...
*adds Pterry to the list*

Hm, what's your opinion on Artemis Fowl? I've hold off on reading it all these years ^^;;

in the end, the big question is "will they end up together?" and the thing is, I know they'll end up together, so since I don't get anything out of the erotica (I freely admit that this, at least, is erotica and not porn), it's really just a mass of text for me to plod through.

Ah. True, that.

Though if Flame and Shadow (my favourite Mistful story, as it happens) is a sequel to UL (and it does seem very much like it is), they might have gotten together, but they didn't stay together. I do appreciate that, though I feel kind of cruel for doing so. ^_^;

That's the Ron/Pansy one? Yeah...I don't like break-up stories, but happily-ever-after H/D is rather hard to sustain, for lack of a better word.

That one's very much a character study, not a love story. There may be a love story down the road, but after 20 chapters, it pretty much isn't going to be able to be the "point" of the story, the way it very clearly was in UL. =]

*g* It's obvious that Harry's more than a little obsessed with Draco in QoM though. Although I'm also rooting for Charlie in the story. And I look forward to Draco-Lucius and Draco-Blaise interactions :-D *is a sucker for Slytherins*

And *curious* what does your username mean/refer to?

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I don't like Johnny and the Dead that much...

It's the weakest book in its trilogy, I feel. Johnny and the Bomb is considerably better.

Hm, what's your opinion on Artemis Fowl? I've hold off on reading it all these years ^^;;

See my review of the same. (http://baeraad.livejournal.com/12702.html) The short version is, I really liked it and thought it was very funny and brilliant. My only complaint was against the endless (and unimaginative) criticism of human nature in it.

That's the Ron/Pansy one?

That very one. :) I do love that story. The moral is something I've had to learn time and again - that things get so much better when you take what is at hand and try to arrange it the way you want it instead of trying to turn it into what you've been told is what you should want. And for some strange reason, "I'm saying I love you, you thick bitch" has won the position of the most romantic thing I've ever read. (*laughs*)

And of course, I don't exactly mind that it's het and very sexy at that. :D

*g* It's obvious that Harry's more than a little obsessed with Draco in QoM though.

No, it's not obvious. Oh, I'm not saying he isn't, because he is. But it's not obvious like it was in UL, and that means I can read it without wincing. :)

I'm also rooting for Charlie in the story.

So am I, actually. I like him and his blushing ears. =]

And *curious* what does your username mean/refer to?

You're going to be disappointed. It looks like it's some kind of Celtic word meaning something very profound, doesn't it? =]

I'm sorry to say that all there is is this: when I was about seventeen, I wrote a novel - my first serious attempt to write. The Mary Sue heroine's name was Sira Baeraad, just because I liked how it looked. When I started using a screenname, that was the first name that came to mind, so I started using it. That's all there is to it, I'm afraid. :)

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X-D

Well at least you're honest about it, lol.

...for some reason I keep on seeing your icon as a turtle. What is it really?

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I have also been told it looks like some kind of machine. =] It's a scarab, actually. To be specific, it's an Egyptian hieroglyph in the shape of a scarab. It's called "xeper." A possible (but not official, I fear) translation is "I have become."

It means roughly this. Say I wake up in the morning (like I did this morning, much against my will ^_^;; ). I don't want to get up yet, because I never do, but I know that if I stay in bed for another hour, I'll be late for school, and too much of that leads to yet another flunked exam and even more student debts.

If I, under those conditions, stay in bed, then I have proven myself to be a sack of meat with a brain attached to it. I know what I should to do to achieve my goals, but me knowing that has no impact on what actually happens, so my knowledge and my plans are entirely inconsequential. If, however, I get up, I can say to myself "I have become!", because now what goes on in my mind has an effect on the world.

Okay. I admit it. I never say "I have become" when I get up in the morning. I say, "coffee... dear lord, I must have coffee...". But the thought is still nice. =]

My avatar has a more interesting story behind it than my screenname, really... =]

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Wow...that is an inspiring story. *g*

I wake up because it's just against my nature to miss school. Although I was often late X-D
Esp. for morning classes in the winter...

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I'm afraid it's very much my nature to stay in bed. I mean, I can sit for hours and stare at the wall. Seriously. I like to see myself as a living proof of Newton's first law. My mom likes to see me as a hopeless slacker. Whatever. =]

Hence the need for a philosophy that tells me to get up and at them. =] I think it has other benefits, though. Popular opinion seems to be that the natural condition of people to be efficient and virtious, so if we don't do well at life, it's because there's something wrong with us. It's rather more comforting (and, dare I say it, rather more compassionate), I feel, to acknowledge that the natural condition of people is to fail and die (and proven by the fact that, well, eventually we all do that =]), so if we do well at life, it means we kinda rock. =]

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Yep, me too X-D
My brain takes me to interesting places :-)

Really? I think when left to their own devices people are lazy. Protestant work ethic is...Protestant work ethic. Amazing how one line in a letter spurs an entire revolution. ("If some of you do not work, he should not eat.")

It's rather more comforting (and, dare I say it, rather more compassionate), I feel, to acknowledge that the natural condition of people is to fail and die

ROTFL

so if we do well at life, it means we kinda rock. =]

:-) It _is_ rather comforting.

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Most people are lazy. Not so my mother. She can go for all of five minutes without something productive to do, then she starts climbing the walls. Alas, I take after my father, who spent most of his free time glued to the couch... =]

Yes, ye gods, Protestant work ethic... We've got that here, being a Lutheran country. Especially we've got that here at the moment, what with having a new government that seems to assume that unemployment equals laziness. Oh, for the good old days, when you could cheat your way to wellfare with a modicum of imagination... =]

:-) It _is_ rather comforting.

See? :D As far as self-cultivation goes, I prefer the carrot to the whip. =]

This is another thing me and the parental unit disagrees about, though. She's always angsting about whatever atrocity she's read about in the paper today, and wailing about "how can people do these things?" I have yet to convince her that, uhm, it's very easy for people to turn into monsters. When you put intelligence and imagination and complex thinking in the same brain as your standard animal fears and aggressions... well, the expression "critical mass" comes to mind. ^_^;

What should surprise her is that we have managed to bring civilisation to a point where there are enough checks and balances that people, by and large, most of the time, don't turn into monsters. The very fact that that was even possible is, I feel, cause for some hope and wonder. :)

Okay, enough of the random philosophy rant... =]

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what with having a new government that seems to assume that unemployment equals laziness.

Heh. I sometimes teach Job Readiness Training in my workplace, and gawd these immigrants are all so desperate to get jobs. It's not like you can live comfortably on welfare. You won't starve and suffer, yes, but you don't live in comfort.

When you put intelligence and imagination and complex thinking in the same brain as your standard animal fears and aggressions... well, the expression "critical mass" comes to mind. ^_^;

...
That's scary X_x;; and depressing.

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It's not like you can live comfortably on welfare.

You can't live on it at all, around here. ^_^; Or at least not unless you've already had a job so that you're officially a "worker." Then you get paid a reasonably sum. I wonder if that rule might be in place so as to make lazy students such as myself get off my ass and find a job. =]

Though getting a job just so that you can be unemployed seems a bit odd... =]

That's scary X_x;; and depressing.

Is it? I don't know. There are worse things to be than a monster.

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Yep. It's tame but erotic and I will repeat this over and over again if necessary: erotic is much more a juice-flowing thing than porn could ever be. So no surprise that my poor dear

baeraad found them - it's more than one, actually, IIRC - upsetting being all male het and things: :-D

You, dear

baeraad should read more of them, open your mind, it's not the exact same thing as opening your backside, y'know? :p

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You know, I have this voice in my head that's yelling, "tame? Tame? That was tame? How could it possibly be less tame than that? How much more explicit can you get?".

I have this other voice in my head that's whimpering and telling the first voice, "quiet, you! Why do you ask questions that you know you wouldn't like the answer to?". ;) I'm going to listen to that one for now. I think it's a wise and sensible voice. =]

it's more than one, actually, IIRC

I wouldn't know. I haven't finished the story yet. ^_^;; After a certain point, I felt that the plot was being sacrificed for yet more reminders of how much Harry wants to fuck Draco up the ass. I mean, I've kind of understood by now that he feels strongly on the subject, I don't need to be told again and again, so could we have less violently-undertoned sexual tension and more development in the whole Lucius-Percy thing that the story is ostentively about? ;)

Just my opinion, of course. And I realise that I'm not the target group here, and that my opinion is therefore somewhat uninteresting... =]

You, dear baeraad should read more of them, open your mind, it's not the exact same thing as opening your backside, y'know? :p

My mind is open. My mind is so open that I feel a draft when I don't wear a cap! =] People can do whatever they want to each other as long as all the concerned parties are okay with it. People can read and write whatever they want, for that matter, and I wish them joy of it. But why do I have to read about it? I don't even like graphic sex when it's male/female, you know. I feel that at a certain point of expliciticy, it stops being an erotic scene and turns into a biology lesson... ;)

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"quiet, you! Why do you ask questions that you know you wouldn't like the answer to?". ;) I'm going to listen to that one for now. I think it's a wise and sensible voice. =]

Yes, that's a v. good choice X-D
Fandom is kinky like you wouldn't believe >_>

After a certain point, I felt that the plot was being sacrificed for yet more reminders of how much Harry wants to fuck Draco up the ass.

ROTFL X-D

could we have less violently-undertoned sexual tension and more development in the whole Lucius-Percy thing that the story is ostentively about? ;)

Haha, and all the H/D fangirls boo at you :-P
Well I do want to learn more about the Harry vs. Voldemort vs. Lucius. And it will be most awesome if Voldemort has inferi!Dumbledore under his control :-D

I don't even like graphic sex when it's male/female, you know. I feel that at a certain point of expliciticy, it stops being an erotic scene and turns into a biology lesson... ;)

*g*

Have you ever read any Harlequin romance?

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Fandom is kinky like you wouldn't believe >_>

Well, I might. I do hear rumours... =]

Haha, and all the H/D fangirls boo at you :-P

I know, I know. ^_^; Told you I wasn't the target group here. =] It's kind of frustrating for me to not even have the satisfaction of decrying the parts of a story I don't like as "bad writing." The only working definition of "bad writing" I can live with is "writing which fails to evoke the right feeling with sufficient accuracy." The objectionable (to me) bits in SohW do evoke the right feelings, at least in the kind of people the story was meant for, so it's in fact good writing that I just don't happen to enjoy. It's like action movies - I don't like them, but I have no right to complain about the existance of action movies.

I hate it when I have no right to complain. =]

And it will be most awesome if Voldemort has inferi!Dumbledore under his control :-D

Oooh, a possibility I didn't even think about... 0_0 There's certainly something we still don't know about what happened with Dumbledore...

Have you ever read any Harlequin romance?

I have read a romance novel or two, but no Harlequins, no... :) Are you saying those manage to do it well, or that those manage to do it amazingly badly? =]

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It's kind of frustrating for me to not even have the satisfaction of decrying the parts of a story I don't like as "bad writing." The only working definition of "bad writing" I can live with is "writing which fails to evoke the right feeling with sufficient accuracy." The objectionable (to me) bits in SohW do evoke the right feelings, at least in the kind of people the story was meant for, so it's in fact good writing that I just don't happen to enjoy.

^^;; SoHW is plot with porn, IMO. (At least by HP slashdom standards)

I for the most part don't like action movies either. Actually, I don't like most of the movies made after 2000 :-/

Oooh, a possibility I didn't even think about... 0_0 There's certainly something we still don't know about what happened with Dumbledore...

Yes! Which is why I hope SoHW will run at least 10 more chapters...so it can expound on all the interesting plot threads that Mira hinted at.

I have read a romance novel or two, but no Harlequins, no... :) Are you saying those manage to do it well, or that those manage to do it amazingly badly? =]

Amazingly badly. I'm ashamed to admit that I read dozens of Harlequin romances during my early teens...until I got sick of them and conclude (rightly) that I can churn out one myself in under one month :-P
They're v. v. formulaic, to say the least. It's worse than TV, believe it or not.

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^^;; SoHW is plot with porn, IMO.

Well, I agree with that much, certainly...

Actually, I don't like most of the movies made after 2000

Humiliatingly enough, I very rarely find myself watching any movie that is not either animated or based on a cartoon, these days. I guess I don't trust film-makers not to make a mess out of anything more challening than that. ^_^;

I mean honestly, movies these days... they are turning Eragon into the winter's big blockbuster. ERAGON! Merciful Armageddon can't come fast enough... -_-;;

It's worse than TV, believe it or not.

Oh, I believe it. TV is underrated... well, some of TV is underrated, mostly because it gets thrown in with all the rest of TV, which is not underrated but rated very fairly, sad to say. But there's the occasional TV series that shows signs of genuine brilliance. Those tend to get cancelled almost immediately, because the people who run TV channels are afraid that they'll accidentally make the viewers think, and that sort of thing can lead to no good, but nonetheless.

Which is why whenever I hear that I must appreciate JK Rowling for getting the kids to read instead of watch TV, I wince. I'd much rather have the little monsters watch something along the lines of Dark Angel than sit and read this hopeless dreck. >_

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I agree on the movie thing. I recently enjoyed Neil Gaiman's Mirror Mask though. Ooh, and I like Steven Spielberg's Monster House.

And I actually enjoyed both the movie and the short story of Brokeback Mountain, which is v. v. rare for me.

I assume you don't like Eragon then?

I love House, M.D. :-D Otherwise, I'm clueless about TV shows.

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To my shame, I haven't seen any of Neil Gaiman's work for TV. ^_^; Currently, I'm toying with the thought of finding out if there's a DVD version of The Beauty and the Beast, since George RR Martin was one of the scriptwriters, and Martin just plain rocks. :D

I cannot comment. I have not seen Brokeback Mountain, for reasons that you can probably guess. ;) Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that there's been a major motion picture about a gay romance. It's a big milestone. And I'd happily buy a ticket, as long as I didn't have to actually see it... =]

Now, who do I have to lobby to get a major motion picture about a childless romance? =]

Ehehehe, Eragon... remember Feist? I like him better than Christopher Paolini, who wrote Eragon.

No, seriously, I do.

But mostly, I admit, because there are no limits to just how much I am capable of loathing something. =]

Bitchiness aside... here (http://baeraad.livejournal.com/17842.html) is my as-polite-as-possible review of Eragon, and here (http://baeraad.livejournal.com/28662.html) is my considerably more candid review of the sequel, Eldest. I think Paolini is aiming for the position as "most amazingly stereotypical and mindlessly derivative fantasy author in the universe." =]

Ooooh, House! :D I love House. There too few writers who are brave enough to have protagonists that aren't meant to be entirely sympathetic. Us cranky, misanthropic people need our rolemodels too, you know! :D

Dark Angel was a very good good sf adventure show, with a cast of multi-faceted characters and a constant theme of the balance between altruism and selfishness that I feel is very relevant to our time (it's a source of some wry amusement to me that we live in quite possibly the most selfish age in history, while at the same time we're bombarded with propaganda about how selfishness is entirely evil and unselfishness is entirely good. Both in word and deed, we seem to have lost track of the fact that these things need to be balanced). Alas, it was cancelled after two seasons. Smart TV shows don't last long. =]

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Ooh, where were you born in?

And you've been to all continents? Even Alaska? *envious*

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I was born in Oxford, actually and I've been to all continents, sorry. I own a travel agency and that requires one travels to all kinds of spots. Even Alaska, though I never had time to really see it, which is the downside of travelling for touristy business: you never see the place, just spots and a few personally interesting spots if you can budget them. Touristy actually is not as nice as it's sold. *blushes*

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England?

Oooh, travel agency :-D

So have you seen Orcas?

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