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I discovered this morning that my sound card died. :-( It was 17 years old, lol. But I thought of it as my "good" sound card, as it's the only one I ever actually installed rather than just using what came with the computer. Meanwhile, the computer seems to have forgotten entirely about the soundcard that it came with; it doesn't even show up in the hardware list, though it's still physically in the computer. So I bought a very cheap little dongle that just has inputs for mic and headphones, so at least I can hear my old favorite casual games and listen to music if I really want to on that computer. And after 17 years, I guess the technology has improved so much that I hardly notice a difference between it and my fancy sound card! *sigh*

I took a chance on a new seed company that was pretty well reviewed on reddit because they had lots of varieties of something it's kind of hard to find seeds for (sorghum). I bought a ton of seeds for a bunch of different kinds of plants, planted at least fifty seeds, and so far, after six weeks, only two have come up! One of which (a pumpkin) randomly died a few days later, and the other of which is still -- just barely -- alive. I'd say it was user error, except that nearly every other seed I've planted from other sources is doing great. So that's a bummer. I was so excited about those seeds.

Also, I'm currently totally obsessed with this hauntingly beautiful song, and this artist. I already loved the songs he contributed to 86, then when I found out he did the AWESOME theme song for To Be Hero X, I went looking for the rest of his stuff. Turns out pretty much everything he does is amazing:

I've had the good fortune and pleasure of getting to listen to Queen (and singing along with gusto, naturally) while driving lately, as it finally occurred to us to order their best-of 3-CD collection. A friend gave me a tape of the original best-of collection in high school, and we listened to that thing every damn day on the way to and from school. It made everyone in the car happy ... then and now. The 25th anniversary of Freddie Mercury's death just passed. Freddie, thanks for everything you were and everything you gave to us.

What are y'all's Thanksgiving plans?

And for my regular day of happy today, I'ma talk about the amazing Imogen Heap. She has tons of great albums. She's always been an ethereal singer with an incredible voice, but as a songwriter, arranger, producer, her albums just keep getting better. Her latest, Sparks, absolutely blows my mind and literally makes me weep with the joy of knowing something this brilliant is allowed to exist in this world.

Here's the song I've been jamming to lately the most, of so many on this album. I'll embed it for easy access, but beware actually watching the video--I don't know about you, but a bad video can easily ruin a song for me, and the otherworldly quality of her music seems antithetical to the video medium unless it's made with tremendous care. So maybe you'll just want to do like me and only listen.

I am SO LOVING see y'all's posts over on amilliondays!!!!! It was a rough day, and they did exactly what they're supposed to do: they made me feel better. <3 <3

Here's my post for today, 100 Days of Happiness Day #2:

This guy right here: Gerard Way



I post about him all the time. His existence on this planet makes me happy. Thanks, man, for sharing yourself with the world. It's made my world better.

SUMMERGEN IS BACK. YAAAY!!!

My favorite book for a time as a kid was The House of Thirty Cats. Well, septembers_coda found it for us at the library and we're reading it aloud right now. It's really quite good, and almost distressingly me. Like, was I already like that and that's why I was so attracted to that book? Or did it significantly form me? It's a bit disturbing.

Anyway, typical of me, it's extremely obscure. I somehow managed to convince my teacher to read it aloud to the class, and everyone was so bored and not into it that she stopped after only a few pages, no matter how much I lobbied the whole class to keep it going and insisted it got much better after the first chapter (which it does, adult-me can confirm!). Those plebeians in my elementary-school class didn't know great literature when they heard it! But s_c is lovin' it. :-) I'm always delighted when I find something I loved in my youth holds up later on, because Bill and Ted ... not so much.

Today I thought, maybe I will be the person who writes the first House of Thirty Cats fanfic and puts it on the internet. And then maybe someone who likes my other fic will see it and give it a try and it'll bring a little more attention to this strange, brutal, vivid, wonderful novel.

... And then I see that my favorite musician is tweeting about the notorious "milk fic" and encouraging his fans to write the most horrifying fic about him they want, that he dgaf.

I got my second (hopefully last) root canal this morning, and learned that these abcesses have been weighing on my immune system a very long time. When you walk out of the endodontist's office feeling better--like, all over--and then you run an errand you meant to run eight months ago and you get to drive around in a different car from usual hearing new music and it's all rainy and your favorite musician is tweeting about obscene fanfic featuring himself ... it's a good day.

Ahhh ... feeling better today. Got a FULL night's sleep, no waking up to pee or anything, with fun dreams, and felt good enough to finish my taxes first thing this morning.

I've had a great desire all my life to be a singer in a band, and well, I'm lately accepting that will probably never happen, and probably wouldn't really be what I hoped even if it did, but s_c filmed me singing my karaoke jam last night, and it feels good to have that approximation on video, even if it's the closest I'll ever get.

It's a beautiful day, I get to look forward to watching some good anime tonight, and SPN S11 is SOOOO GOOD. Guh, "Red Meat" was movie-quality writing, acting, directing, effects, everything. SPN I LOVE YOU. And I love all of YOU, too. Happy Sunday!

The February Fandom Fest put on by selenic76 is all about expressing your love for any fandom however you see fit (one of the hopes being that others will find a new show to love). I’ve already seen some really cool entries! (Go here to see them all, and if you’re interested in participating, sign up!)

I already do a lot of this. I gushed about Captain America: Winter Soldier here (with some incidental love for Thelma and Louise that found its way into that post), MCR here and here, Men Without Hats here, and I’ve expressed my great love for Princess Tutu countless times, including writing an SPN crossover. I love those shows/band so much, I had to make myself some usericons for them, as:

Winter Soldier: MCR:

Indeed, Princess Tutu is the source of my default usericon (see this post)! But I guess I’ve never really gone into what makes the anime so great.

First, yeah, I know, worst name for a show ever. I couldn’t help but tease my (quite macho) anime-lovin’ buddy when I saw it on his shelf. He laughed sheepishly, but said, “It’s actually a good show.” He has excellent taste, so I suggested we watch it, and the rest is history.

At first, you’ll think you know where it’s going. Well ... kinda, because this is an anime that makes perfect sense upon viewing but is hard to describe without sounding like you’re dropping acid. So, here’s the acid-drenched version: A duck falls in love with a prince who practices ballet at her lake. The storyteller from whose story the prince escaped offers the duck the chance to play a tragic but important part in the story, and of course she jumps at the chance to be near her prince, and to be human ... but if she ever confesses her love, she’ll turn into a speck of light and vanish, so there’s all the delicious angst of her getting to be close and yet so far.

The whole town has come to revolve around the story the storyteller (his name is Drosselmeyer--it takes place in Germany) is manifesting in the real world, which he can do because his authorial power was so great in life that it continues beyond the grave. (I see a lot of metaphors for God and the human condition in that aspect of the show, as Drosselmeyer literally uses people as puppets, manipulates events and calls it “fate,” rages when anyone revolts and exercises free will, and lives “behind the curtain” where the gears of reality are at his command.) Countless moments of genius are sprinkled throughout the show regarding authorial power and choice, which I think writers might appreciate, so if you write fanfic, this might be just your cup of tea.

It sounds like a fairy tale, but it’s more of a ballet, using famous ballets and classical pieces to tell the story, from Swan Lake to the Nutcracker and everything in between. (One of the joys of the show is hearing the EXCELLENT orchestral performances of all these classical pieces. I’m picky about this kind of thing, and truly, I can’t imagine better versions of any of these beloved classics.) One of many strokes of genius in this show is that it’s “staged” like a ballet. Crows figure heavily into the story, but usually they’re human male and female figures performing ballet with giant crow’s-head masks. Spotlights appear on the performers, like so:

( cut for gif )
Meanwhile, Duck, the prince, and the other main characters study ballet at an old, venerable school, so it has all the fun and drama and romantic intrigue of a high-school anime, too.

It DOES also have a strong fairy-tale quality--the prince’s name is Mytho, and there are numerous animal characters--as if the creator tapped into something deep and archetypal that lives deep in our collective unconscious. Strange and unpredictable and modern, it at the same time nevertheless feels classic. I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of all the layers, metaphors, and meanings in this thing.

Finally, I love this anime because I feel like it tells a story I lived, with parallel characters and events transpiring obviously very differently from in the show, but on a fundamental level, it resonates for me profoundly ... yet nothing about this anime suggests it’s a common story, so I doubt anyone else in the world (except the amazing woman who created it) feels the same. As you can imagine, I’m grateful to have a show to reflect that experience for me and help me understand and analyze it.

Princess Tutu seems to have been strongly influenced by another great anime, Revolutionary Girl Utena, which is a good deal more popular than Princess Tutu, so if you saw and liked that one, you’re likely to like Princess Tutu, as well.

I often suggest watching an anime in Japanese, but in this case, the English dub is so carefully done and so energetic and inspired, I recommend the English. Besides, if you don’t watch it in English, then you’ll never see TJP’s performance of Mr. Cat, and I pity anyone who doesn’t get to experience that in their lifetime. ;-)

Here is an amazing fanvid I found while looking for clips to gif (good Tutu gifs are hard to come by, I’m finding). For your reference, Duck/Princess Tutu is the redhead, and the prince has white hair. (The show most enjoyably ships all pairings, including the other two main characters, both dark-haired.) I’m not sure if any measure of the show’s true glory will come across to anyone not already familiar with it, but many of the themes and visuals I’ve described are present in this vid, and it’s a fantastic song, as well. SPN covered “The Red Shoes”; well, so did Princess Tutu, and you get a sense for that theme in the vid, too.

I can't seem to find words about David Bowie yet. How can you sum up a being and an artist like that?

But I did want to share this with y'all, because DAYUM did the man know how to take a picture.



Article here.

So, this band I'm completely obsessed with. Once upon a time, they had a very active bandom, lots of fanfic. There's a pair of brothers in the band, so they even have a -cest ship! But the most popular ship is between the singer and the guitarist (both straight and now married--to women), and they're so hot together, and it's SO GREAT because you don't have to invest in one of those expensive tin hats or read a whole lot into it (though just a bit of websurfing showed there are fans who still manage); they just put it all right out there for ya.
( No need for subtext; straight-up text will do. )