Datta, Dayadhvam, Damyata

everyone laughed and said that a circus must be passing through town.

2008-07-23T14:53:10Z

na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na BATMAN na na!

PREVIEWS REVIEW.. cos I won't discuss spoilers, oh no.

NEW TERMINATOR MOVIE:
Bale: What haven't I done yet?
Random Person: A Terminator movie.
Bale: OMFG, YES.

WATCHMEN:
AHHHHHHHH. Just... AHHHHHHHHHH ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

TROPIC THUNDER:
Okay, if the previews make my Vietnam "Conflict" Vetran of a mother laugh, then it's going to be funny. Just saying.

EARTH STOOD STILL THING-IE:
See icon plz.

There were others, but I can't remember the titles of the movies or what exactly happened in the trailors. Oh my god, THEY TOTALLY WEREN'T INTERESTING.

Oak that grows between the two banks; Darkened is the sky and hill!

2008-07-18T15:48:58Z

Okay, this was too much to resist. praiseofshadows posted hers here (Star Wars, Anakin/Padmé), who in turn got it from wolfalice here (Animated Transformers, various pairings). So it is pretty easy to say that I'm going to be next in the line, just because I'm a drabble whore and cannot stop myself from jumping at every oppertunity to gather excuses to write short blots of fiction that never lead anywhere except in my mind.

So. Fan Fiction meme.

1. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.
2. Turn on your music player and put it on random/shuffle.
3. Write a drabble related to each song that plays. You only have the time frame of the song to finish the drabble; you start when the song starts, and stop when it's over. No lingering afterwards!
4. Do ten of these then post them.

For me, it is Without A Trace, Danny Taylor and Martin Fitzgerald quasi-relationship thing, and probably around a teen to adult rating. Nothing pr0ny, at any rate ~~damnit~~.

Anyway, The thing about blood is that if coming from someone still breathing, it gushes like a fountain..

being aware beforehand that the dispositions of the Athenians were not friendly,

2008-07-17T14:48:16Z

FIRST POST IN NEW ICON COMMUNITIY.
credit in keywords.
comments are appreciated.
enjoy ♥

Tsubasa RC: 11
X/1999: 12
Clover: 08

preview.


1	2	3

( but hoping that they would give way and leave their obstinacy )

Note: Am leaving athwartships behind, because it is so damn inconvenient to log in and out and in again. So, now posting icons at commodiois, cos communities are where it's at, yo. If anyone has an icon journal or community that they want to affiliate with my icon thing, let me know in a comment here and I'll add you to the affiliates post ♥ Friends get preferential treatment, like totally.

(am sicker than the proverbial dog, and as such am reverting to valley!girl talk from my youth. ignore me.)

"My schedule for today lists a six-hour self-accusatory depression," Iran said.

2008-07-11T18:37:41Z

Mother has a kidney stone that was trying to pass last night it seems, which I have no idea if it is/was life-threatening or not. I suppose I will research it later, along with the apparent phenomenon that if you live in El Paso you are more inclined to acquire the aforementioned affliction. My theory: All of the soda and beer we drink to keep cool in the summer as opposed to good old fashioned water.

At any rate, she is home now, hopped up on the largest amount of narcotics they could give her in an IV drip, and I'm trying to come down from the adrenal rush of having to run the household completely for five hours. Who knew that paying bills could be so nerve-wracking?

She'll will be home until Wednesday, when she will be able to return to work. I get to wait on her hand and foot until then, so she is going to be one pampered parent. I'm sure she will appreciate it later, when we have to go to Wal-Mart to fill her prescription.

Thank you for the comments on my last post, you people are wonderful and I adore each and every one of you ♥

And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone.

2008-07-07T12:19:08Z

I've moved over all of the fandom communities that I intend to participate in over onto this account, so now makrothumia will only be used for claims and archiving my fan fiction. It was just too much of a hassle to log in and out to see what is going on in the various fandoms I like, which kind of makes me feel a bit stupid for not doing this earlier.

In honour of me finally getting off of my ass and making it so that I can actually participate in fandom again, have a meme that I've had saved to a Notepad for eons:

Name a fic you think I will never, ever, ever write. In return (and if inspired), I will attempt to write a snippet.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

"It's repetitive, yes, but repetitions can make poetic sense."

2008-07-05T11:39:44Z

LJ just sent the comment for this, WTH. nhrug, more icons to explain, this time from fever_bloodbath

Hee~♥ This is the MYV + SEX = ORGASM icon, for srs. I use it whenever something strikes me as particularly sexy.

This is for when I get a big head and cannot fit myself through the door. I AM THE KING, BOW DOWN BEFORE ME, DUDE.

It is a Surprise Battleaxe, and it is good. Humorous beheading is always a dignified thing to put on an icon, am I right or am I right?

Mou, another one of those religious icons I seem to keep gathering/making. Though not from a particularly symbolic manga (Leviathan), I thought that this certain panel was perfect for whenever I happen to get around talking about fanaticism and all it entails.

Token Eleonora Rose icon, cos damn that woman is gorgeous. First time I've ever really said that about a model, actually. And guh, this picture in particular was enough to get me to start gibbering.

And then a fan fiction meme from baroques:

RULES:
> Answer the questions.
> Tag 7 other authors.
> Authors who got tagged twice don't have to do this meme again.

1. Your fav fandom?
I love all of my fandoms equally, shame on you for suggesting otherwise.

2. Your fav pairing(s)? Why?
Each fandom has its own pairings that I adore, so this answer will be purposely vague as well ♥

3. Pairing(s) you hate the most? Why?
I dislike pairings that are there for no reason except to provide filler, or to pair up the author's hated characters just to do something with them. If you don't like the character, don't write him/her.

4. First fic ever?
A Cowboy Bebop thing that has since been wiped out of existence.

5. Genre(s) suit you the most?
Angst, whatever genre rough boysmut against a wall falls in, drama, icky gross gross gross stuff so I suppose horror. MENTAL TORTURE.

6. Numbers of your fics when you do this meme?
I actually calculated last night that on makrothumia alone I house two hundred eleven fics (that's 211, folks). That number has increased by one since then.. I think. (did I do this before I posted the WaT fic, or after? I CAN'T REMEMBER!)

7. Your fav author(s)? Why?
All of the authors I adored on ff.net have gone weird, or fallen out of my tastes, so they're not applicable. So.. the people on my flist? You people are awesome ♥

8. Ever thought your own fics are good?
I've looked back on things that I wrote years ago and begrudgingly accepted that they weren't the total crap I initially thought they were, but no, I don't really think that I am a good writer.

9. Ever received critics for your fics? Did that affect you?
Yeah, people critique my stuff all of the time. If they put forth their opinions/corrections in a decent tone, I'll listen. If they're coming off as boorish and aggressive, I'll ignore them, regardless of the validity of the critique. Just a thing I have.

10. Are you famous amongst the other authors?
Ha! I really have no idea, but I'd imagine not.

In other news: I caved and wrote something for the Without A Trace fandom. Something that ended up being over two thousand words before I stopped to take a breather. Wot wot? Total bafflement on my side, for srs.

Arg. I need to go do.. stuff. *waves hand at whatever, but leans toward nevermind*

The only difference between lilies and turds is whatever difference humans have agreed upon

2008-06-23T07:03:00Z

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080623/us_nm/carlin_dc

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian George Carlin, a counter-culture hero famed for his routines about drugs and dirty words, died of heart failure at a Los Angeles-area hospital on Sunday, a spokesman said. He was 71.

The freaky thing about this is, I was reading about him in the paper today. He was due to get a Mark Twain award or something like that. Jesus.

I cannot say that I was a fan -- saw him perform a couple of years ago and all he really did was rant and rave -- but seriously? This is kind of sad, in a "wow, that was inevitable" kind of way.

he found that he had too many other uses for his time

2008-06-16T12:40:56Z

Okay, this thing with Heinze pestering Ronaldo to come join Real Madrid? Starting to get to be too much. As stated here, he is now telling the papers about how much fun the young man will have in Madrid as opposed to staying in England.

Honestly, he sounds like a dodgy old fellow trying to lure a pretty young boy into the back of his van with candy or puppies or the promise of seeing something "astonishing".

And it really doesn't help matters that Ronaldo is being a pissant over all of this in addition to Ferguson acting like a stubborn ass. Really, he should mock the bastard or something, not sit and stew in his own angryman juices until he blows.

Urgh. Whatever. I'll be glad to hear the end of it, if and or when that happens to come about.

And yesterday, watched the first half of Turkey versus Czech Republic and the last few minutes of The States versus some country that begins with a 'B'. Former match for Euro 08, latter for World Cup qualifiers or something of the sort. I wasn't involved enough to root for any of the four teams, so I ended up napping during most of.. well, everything. Now, if we had the channel that showed Portugal versus Switzerland, we'd be in business. I learned basic swearing in Portuguese for the last World Cup just to show my support, and I would have loved to see if I can still recall how to pronounce 'fuck' properly.

Okay, back to whatever mundane chore is awaiting completion by my hands.

ETA: A meme from bunnyp69 that I had forgotten I'd done. Too much aluminium!

1. Reply to THIS post, and I will select four or five of your userpics that I like.
2. Make a entry and talk about the icons I have chosen.
3. Other people will then comment on your entry and you will do the same as I have done for you.
4. Thus creating a NEVER ENDING of icon faggotry.

My Results:

Somewhat of a joke that was running around back when praiseofshadows and I were conversing via AIM on a regular basis. I use it when I wish to express that something about what I am replying to is the equivalent of being more awesome than toast with jam, which in turn supercedes being more awesome than sliced bread without the discovery of toast.

This is an icon that I found eons ago and never got around to using until now. I find it to be humourus in a rather true way, and have done the dance myself a few times for the amusement of me and mine. It is one of two religious icons I keep uploaded now, so it applies to church and all things related.

Ishida being his "damn, woman" self, trufax. I use this when I feel I need to talk about or comment on something particularly biting.

One of the last panels from Gerard Way's The Umbrella Academy, which was awesome from the second issue onwards. It is of the mother reading a newspaper, and I use it for talking about news. Yus.

Francesco found Jacopo de’ Pazzi more cautious and difficult to persuade than he could have wished

2008-06-15T15:33:05Z

Actually got to watch two Euro 2008 matches yesterday, Spain vs. Sweden and Russia vs. Greece. The only reason I managed to actually watch was that I flipped to ESPN2 mere seconds before the first match began, and instantly plopped myself down and started to scream for Spain to win ♥

And when Russia and Greece was near beginning, mother and I were conversing as to who we would support. I thought, "Hey, underdogs, I'll root for Greece!", but as soon as they filed out onto the field, this ensued.

Me: *looks at the players* I don't like them.
Mother: Don't like who?
Me: The Greek players. They all look like they've got sticks up their asses. The shipper in me is displeased, and I’m oddly reminded of Italy in the last World Cup. I want to root for Russia.
Mother: What, why?
Me: Cos they like themselves and their team-mates!
Mother: But.. but I have Russia!
Me: I want to root for Russia, cos I don't like the Greek players, mum.
Mother: So that leaves me Greece. Greece, Kjata.
Me: Jesus, we can both root for Russia.
Mother: That wouldn't be any fun.
Me: It's fun to be opposed while watching sports? THAT'S HOW PEOPLE ARE KILLED.
Mother: There needs to be tension!
Me: Fuck tension. We can both root for Russia.
Mother: *sighs* Fine.

So we both rooted for Russia. The End.

Or not. I actually felt bad for the Grecian goalie, and ended up yelling at the commentators for being such asses over the one mistake he made that let in the only goal of the game. HE WAS DISTRACTED, DAMNIT! But no sympathy for the rest of the players. I don't like it when full-grown men fall down on the grass and kick and scream when the ball doesn't go their way. Hello? Drama much?

and he rose up, and looked at his person, and became ashamed of the unseemliness of his appearance

2008-06-10T11:56:40Z

What started as a philosophical discussion of what would attract little old me to a human (male or female) who wasn't David Bowie or an elderly author turned into the following:

Me: I don't like short ones cos--
Mother: So much hate for your people, Kjata.
Me: I'm average height! And I mean males, not females.
Mother: Okay, go on.
Me: So, I don't like short ones cos most have a Napoleon complex, and that is so freaking awful to deal with. I don't want to have to call the guy 'Bonaparte' whenever he gets testy, you know?
Mother: Would he even get this reference?
Me: What? Napoleon? Not get Napoleon?
Mother: Yes, would he understand that you were calling him a midget warmonger?
Me: Why would I date someone that stupid in the first place?
Mother: Don't know, why would you?
Me: I wouldn't.
Mother: Good. One thing I can stop worrying about.
Me: You worry that I'll bring a disabled male home? Don't answer, don't want to know.
Mother: Fine.
Me: Anyway.. what was I talking about?
Mother: Your hatred of your own kind.
Me: NOT MY KIND. I'M AVERAGE. AVERAGE HEIGHT.

denounce some violations of the fundamental rights of human nature through experiments

2008-06-07T15:48:06Z

Vatican Lists New Sins for Society in March of 2008

Okay, I was offline when this happened and it so did not make the news where I am, so I only just heard about it.

But WHAT, Vatican? WHAT?

Drug Usage is a sin. Well, since this is a new one, do the people who used to use get grandfathered in, like it'll only count as a half sin in St. Peter's big-ass book instead of a full one? Or will us nice little unassuming people who had a high old time dropping acid and shooting up heroine and just ingesting speedballs like it was the best thing next to sliced bread, will us past users who had no freaking idea, will we be damned just because of some youthful promiscuity? THE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW.

Bioethics! Experiment on embryos that will just end up in the trash anyway, and you're going to hell like a firecracker takes your fingers in a close-proximity explosion. Nice to know, it'll be a helluva story for all of the LIFE-SAVING SCIENTISTS to tell Dante when they drop down and have to confront the old leopard, lion and she-wolf thing themselves, eh eh?

And don't let me in on the "ecological offences", Archbishop Girotti! Do not let me in on that. So I've taken a few flights in my relatively short life, guzzled a bit of gas on road trips. Will that count as half-sins for thos of us who hadn't a clue, or will we be hit with a full letter reprimand sometime soon?

I SWEAR TO GOD. Pope Benedict is like the George Bush of popes. His Holiness John Paul II wouldn't do something like this, you cad! You awesomely horrible papal-hat wearing PALPATINE DUDE.

*foams at the mouth*

Yves Saint Laurent, Giant of Couture, Dies at 71

2008-06-02T18:54:10Z

Yves Saint Laurent, Giant of Couture, Dies at 71

Damnit. Just.. damnit.

And I swear to god, if Ray Bradbury or John le Carre or any other people who I worship bite it, I will so proclaim vendetta upon the universe. Blowing up parliament, wearing the wonky mask, enjoy a flamboyant hat while sending death threats -- I WILL DO IT ALL.

Big Bird Death; Died of Big Bird Flu

2008-06-02T06:09:50Z

Sourcery by Terry Pratchett
Formulistic Pratchett, but still entertaining. Talking Hats! Barbarian Babes! Acne-ridden Barbarians!

Rabbit, Run by John Updike
Uses the same writing style as J.D. Salinger, which I cannot stand, but unlike Catcher in the Rye, was interesting enough to get me to the end of the book.

Twilight, New Moon & Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
Mormon porn. 'Nuff said.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Ravings of a radical feminist who doesn't know that if you want your point to be made, you should refrain from preaching at people.

Pants on Fire, Nicola and the Viscount, Big Boned, Queen of Babble In The Big City, & Jinx by Meg Cabot
Awesome Meg Cabot, still too short though. When will she write a bigger book, like a fantasy trilogy or something? IT WOULD BE AWESOME.

Restoration of Faith by Jim Butcher
Dresden Files prequel, makes me excited to start in on the series. Trolls, lolz.

Prom Nights from Hell by Various
Three were fun (Meg Cabot & Vampires! FTW), one was meh, and the last was more Mormon Porn.

Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite
Skimmed for only the Steve and Ghost bits, cos everything else sucked. I mean, really? Every vampire is ghey except when it comes to reproduction? REALLY?

Fourteen read this month, probably won't surpass that amount this month.

[Fandom Report] Month of May, 2008

2008-06-01T23:54:26Z

Last Month: 05
This Month: 09

Big O
London Bridges | gen!fic; G; album_mix

Bleach
I Hate Jimmy Page | Ishida; G; album_mix

Cowboy Bebop
Under Pressure | Spike/Faye; PG; 10hugs

FLCL
Flying Diz Busters | Naota/Haruka; G; 31_days

Fullmetal Alchemist
Yesterday | Roy/Riza; G; 52_flavours

Labyrinth
Cup Like a Magnolia Flower | Sarah Williams; PG; 100_women & 31_days
Play The Game | Jareth/Sarah; G; 52_flavours

Storm Hawks
Breathe On Me | Dark Ace/Aerrow; PG-13; 30_kisses
Potemkin Village | Dark Ace/Aerrow; PG-13; 30_kisses

Book reviews later, perhaps tomorrow later or today later. Whichever comes first, I suppose.

This month I am going to try to post something on makrothumia every day, so next month's Fandom Report will be significantly.. larger. If -- if -- I actually stick to my guns and manage to do it.

She was surprised, for she saw that the house was small.

2008-05-25T19:10:04Z

Robert Asprin is dead, as is Dick Martin. Okay, who's next?

& & &

Me: Yeah, that's the same sea that you see every day, but woah so pretty on a boat.
Mother: I think she's staring at it more than seeing it.
Me: *laughs*

The Aborigines and Trojans were soon after attacked together in war.

2008-05-15T03:53:52Z

I changed my layout for the first time in three years, confetti and Mega-Gulps of Vodka all around. Yes, you may even have a party hat.

Now to just get the money together for a paid account so I can have my icons and picture space back. Then, everything related to the journal will be perfect ♥ (I think my mother said she'd loan me the money for the account next month, but I've had a pretty faulty memory as of late, so it might be sooner. Or later.)

Also -- for the first time in two years -- I'm deleting a few people from my f-list. Not many, just a handful, but I feel that I need to do it. To the people who are removed, I wish you well and hope your future ventures are met with success.

To K'ung Fu-tse, life seemed rather sour.

2008-05-03T15:03:40Z

Anon sez: so what is this board? a big collection of book covers?

That thread totally made my (otherwise rife with pain and self-loathing) day ♥

Also, we should be getting DSL again near end of May, beginning of June. If I don't respond to anything for a few days without warning, it's cos the phone lines are getting prepared for all the downloading that will bog them down soon. (fiberoptic cables are sentient beings, see.)

[Fandom Report] Month of April, 2008

2008-05-01T23:51:15Z

Last Month: 01
This Month: 05

Firefly
these two aspects | Jayne/Kaylee; G; 64damn_prompts

Naruto
She Could Need His Help | Hatake Kakashi/Haruno Sakura ; PG; 64damn_prompts

Slayers
Bleed It Out | Zelgadis; PG-13; 64damn_prompts

Storm Hawks
Futures | Dark Ace/Aerrow; R; album_mix

Trigun
Map of the Problomatique | Knives/Vash; PG-13; album_mix

I am one of the last three people to sign up for summerwrite, so this amount of fan fiction will be normal until the challenge is over. I'm pretty much going to use fic to get various things out of my system so can focus on the original story, and hopefully this approach will work for me.

(piawacket hates that she has to work, cos I told her about it this morning when she got home and she became really upset that she couldn't sign up too, on account of the sign-ups being closed already. I'm trying to console her with the fact that she can do NaNo again this year, but I've no clue if it is working.)

Use some Bolivian Marching Powder and GET BACK OUT THERE.

2008-04-28T10:00:12Z

MOTHER: I remember when talking about sex was a taboo thing to do.
ME: Taboo as in inproper, or taboo as in threesome with your brother and a rabid badger?
MOTHER: ... I can't talk to you anymore.

It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin

2008-04-23T12:31:03Z

I need to get back to writing, so here is a meme dug out from an old post of mine.

Every person on your f-list gets to request a fic from you. ~~In return, they have to post this in their journal and write a fic for you.~~ (not mandatory) Post all fandoms you're willing to write for. Your friends can pick a relationship, a story arc, a missing scene, commentary! Or pretty much anything they want, unless the author has previously mentioned that they will not write it. They comment with what they want, and you write the fics and post it in your LiveJournal.

Fandoms:
Listed on the interests at makrothumia

What I Will Not Write:
I'm horrible with Crossovers, so those are out. I'm good with everything else, though.

Request more than one fic if you want, as it will give me more stuff to do. Comments of requests will be replyed to once fics are finished, so I don't spam this journal with direct links to fan fiction ♥

You! hypocrite lecteur! — mon semblable, — mon frère!’

2008-04-21T14:36:42Z

Was looking at campaign coverage by the New York Times (Online Ver.), and found some acceptable pictures of the Democratic Candidates to make icons of. Only acceptable, mind you -- I would have loved it if they had some competent photographers who didn't aim the lens up Clinton's nose (I CAN SEE HER BRAINS!) or only find dark places with no light to snap pictures of Obama. Seriously, piss me off, making me work so hard.

Clinton

Obama

WHAT SMELLS LIKE BUG MARSHMALLOWS?

2008-04-16T07:07:53Z

Darenimo Aisarenai: 11
Bleach: 8

PREVIEW

( mea culpa, mea culpa )

I'll not be posting icons here anymore, so if you want icons, friend athwartships ♥

New icons at athwartships

2008-04-14T10:39:14Z

Only The Ring Finger Knows: 3
Tsubasa RC: 11
Leviathan: 8

preview..

( Thank god, I'm starting again. )

You! Cake or Death?

2008-04-10T07:16:47Z

Eddie Izzard was just on Conan O'Brian and was perfectly delightful. God, I adore that man.

& & &

Two days ago, on the phone after Pia gets to work..

PIA: You forgot my potato.
ME: I did? Cos it wasn't in the microwave when I opened it a minute ago.
PIA: Did you even cook it?
ME: Yes, I remember. Must've pulled it out and forgot to put it into the lunchbox.
PIA: So where is it?
ME: Dunno. I'll look tonight.

later...

PIA: Find the potato?
ME: Yes.
PIA: Where was it?
ME: Gatsby was dragging it into a mass of dirty underwear under your bed.
PIA: ...
ME: It looks like he's been hoarding them for a while now, along with some of your socks and a squeaky toy.
PIA: ...
ME: So, uh, not my fault that your fucking underpants've been dwindling in numbers.
PIA: I'm killing my cat when I get home.

[Linotype Lite] March 2008

2008-04-04T12:05:53Z

Books read from March 1st to March 31st, 2008.

His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
Lyra and her daemon travel across their world and a few of the next in a constantly modifying quest that eventually ends up being a very long trip to save the world. Her uncle works to kill God, her nemesis Mrs. Coulter carries around a very pretty (but mean) looking ape, and the other characters that pop up, in, about and around are always rotating, always trying to hinder or help. But the armoured polar bear is the bestest ♥

Truth be told, I had a very hard time getting into the first book. I think it took seven tries before I could get past the first three sentences, and then I had to really struggle to continue on past the first paragraph. That being said, once that obstacle was vaulted over, I had a very fun time reading all of them. It got a bit cliché at times, but it was tolerable with everything else that was going on, and the focus never left the main character for too long -- as it is far too often that a book starts with the focus on the girl lead, then drifts away permanently as soon as the boy lead pops up.

All in all, ☀☀☀☀ out of 5

A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Prattchet
Tiffany Aching has problems, but nothing she can't deal with. Sure, little drunken blue men peek in on her while she's changing her clothes, she can't seem to get hold of any "real" magic, and there is an invisible buzzing thing following her around, but really, nothing she can't deal with. After all, the big (and most confusing) witch around gave her an invisible hat that no one else can see! That has to count for something.

Prattchet is a favourite of mine, and this book keeps the love alive by having at least one good gut laugh every chapter or so. The Nac Mac Feegle dudes are Hilarious with a capital H, all of the little witches who come up with the crappiest rituals ever provide an interesting change of pace, and Granny Weatherwax is awesome, as always.

☂☂☂☂☂ out of 5

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
In something that looks like an autobiography of sorts, Vonnegut writes about a man who is taken as a war prisoner in World War II, and who -- in an out of order way -- relates how he survives and what the aliens do to him.

I have a lengthy review written for this book somewhere on the computer, but I think overall I can remember the gist of it: I. Didn't. Care. For. This. Book. At. All. I recognise how this author could be heralded as a genius, he really was a good writer, but the "So it goes" thing annoys the shit out of me and prevented me from enjoying the book completely. I found myself snarling at the pages halfway in, wanting to throw the entire thing under the kitchen sink so that I could just ignore it.

In conclusion, ▼▼ in recognition of the writer's talent, but none additional for the lack redeeming social value.

Consider Her Ways by John Wyndham
A female awakes to this odd world, certain it is a dream and she really hasn't transformed into a pink-clad human whale. Someone insert a rimshot here.

I loved this book, if only for the absolute absurdity of it all, and the reactions of the protagonist. It is full of low-key drama, lots-of-wailing drama, and a few moments where I just wanted to slap my forehead in exasperation. And the pink, oh gods the piiinnnkkkk! XD XD

✘✘✘✘✘✘✘✘✘✘ out of 10, liek woah XD

Kushiel's Dart & Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey
Phedre is a trained consort of sorts, a high-class whore maybe, who has the weirdest crap happen to her in this fantasy world where gods like to hit their subjects upside the head with flails, and where no one recognises the villain upon pain of death until she's standing over them and cackling like a fiend.

I admit, some of the subject matter makes me squirm in discomfort at times, but for the most part these books are rather enjoyable. It seems that Phedre has a rather good system down (Need Money? Offer Sex. Kidnapped? Offer Sex. Country is about to go under from a devious plot by fifty million parties? Offer Sex, DAMNIT!) and it though it gets laughable at times, it isn't the bad kind of laughter.

For both books, ♀♀♀♀ out of five, just for Jocelin ♥

Cold As Ice & Ice Blue by Anne Stuart
Different females, different secret agent love interests, semi-amusing premises that are suspiciously similar.. yep, it's a romance novel series.

These books were a good way to fill up otherwise empty time. The author is a bit of a japanophile, so Gackt & Final Fantasy references ahoy, as well as making a character in Ice Blue dress like Reno just cos he can. Total ♥ for that, total ♥

♥ ♥ ♥ out of five -- not the best, but certainly not the worst.

I Am David by Anne Holm
David is aided in an escape from what seems to be a concentration camp, and travels harsh terrain to try to find out who he is and where he needs to go. Imagine the Lovable Tramp crossed with Auschwitz, and you've got the basis for the book.

This book quite honestly didn't do much for me. My suspension of disbelief sort of died on the vine after the first few paragraphs, and after that the only reason I kept reading was because I wondered where the hell the author was going. At certain points it gets a bit cutesy, which might be part of the reason I kind of shake my head when I think of the book, but oh well. It wasn't a total loss, but it isn't the best available at any rate.

✿✿✿ out of 5

Twin of Ice by Jude Deveraux
Twins in Podunk, Colorado bitch and whine and beg for booty in this time-period from HELL book. A token gruff stable boy rides in with OMG MILLIONS and wanders around to be changed by the "right woman", and the woeful times and tribulations of the coal mining people dominate the last quarter of the book. AS IF WE COULD DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT IN THE NINETIES, YOU BORING LADY AUTHOR YOU.

No neutrality here, this thing was horrible, and I wish I could bleach my brain clean of it.

minus ×××××, cos I hate it so.