copperbadge

copperbadge@gmail.com — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:50:30 GMT

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

Ways To Give:

is in a tax lien violation due to a missed payment while she was unemployed, and now things have escalated. She's trying to raise $2K by May 27th. She's offering art in exchange for donations. You can read the details and donate here.

linked to , who along with her partner is trying to buy the blueberry farm they've lived on for the last three blueberry seasons, which their out-of-state landlord (who has lost her job) now has to sell. You can read more here and donate here.

linked to Seth, who is trying to raise funds to finish the training for his service dog, Deke. The giveforward only lists $600 because that is the short term need, but he really needs $2,000 to finish paying for everything. You can read more here and give to help Deke here.

knitchick1979 has two upcoming fundraisers in Chicago for their Relay for Life team:
Monday, May 20th, 8 PM. Hambingo at Hamburger Mary's. $15 to play all night (3 cards per game, 8-10 games), fabulous prizes every round!
Thursday, May 23rd. Meatheads in Schaumburg. Bring in the flyer at the Facebook link any time during that day and the team gets ten percent of your meal.

linked to a fundraiser for "Winning Dad", a film about a gay man who decides to trick his father (who ignores everything about that side of his son's life) into going camping with his boyfriend. Arthur Allen, the director of the film, is running a Kickstarter to help pay for the costs of production. You can read about the film and check out the backer rewards here!

linked to a defense fund that has been set up for the folks mentioned in last week's RFM about the community being sued.
also linked to some legal snark on the subject.

News To Know:

linked to an awesome event coming up in Chicago on June 1, in conjunction with the annual ALA convention: "Que(e)ry Party is in town for the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, and is co-hosting a party with Chances Dances. All proceeds benefit the Critical Fierceness Grant and the Leather Archives & Museum." You can find more info about the party here.

The Huffington Post recently published an article on warehouse labour abuses, specifically by Amazon.com but also in general. It's interesting reading and good to know if you want (and are able) to shop responsibly.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can always post items for my attention in comments here (or on any post) or email me at copperbadge at gmail dot com. If you're not sure how to proceed, here is a little more about what I do and how you can help (or ask for help!).

copperbadge@gmail.com — Sun, 19 May 2013 16:32:56 GMT

I HAVE CLEANED ALL THE THINGS. My hands are all pruney.

Ironically, the bathroom had just become sparkling clean when the bay-leaf-and-salt bag I hung on the bathroom door burst. So now it smells like bleach and bay leaf and swiffer, because nothing else would pick up the salt. It's not unpleasant, just...amusing. How many times CAN I sweep the bathroom floor?

You could eat off it. And if you did, it would be lightly salted!

Definitely time to get a haircut tomorrow too. I looked in the mirror after getting up this morning and went "Huh. Blond Wolverine."

copperbadge@gmail.com — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:07:20 GMT

How can one person own this many coffee mugs?

I'm continuing my lazy half-assed packing of things I don't actually foresee a dire need for in the next few months, and in cleaning out my dish cabinet I discovered that I have more mugs than anyone needs. I possibly have more mugs than a family of four requires on a regular basis.

Some of them are in regular rotation, mainly ones that were given to me by friends, but I have two full four-mug sets just waiting for me to break one of them, and like half a dozen others I don't remember purchasing or getting as gifts. It's like there's a Mug Dimension in my cupboard.

I'm also enjoying learning new things about myself, like how I have three boxes of "books" and one box of "especially sentimentally valuable books" and one further box of "Nobody touches these books but me keep your fucking hands to yourself I will personally carry these to wherever I am moving."

(Sadly, I also have a "Nobody touches this but me" box for the kitchen.)

Most of my belongings can be divided up into Books, Kitchen, and Masks. Well, and Winter Clothing, but everyone has to have a hobby.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:52:27 GMT

I HAVE COMMITTED A BIG BANG.

Really I committed it with Lienwyn, a charming artist who has done some amazing work that both inspired the story and was inspired by it. You can find all the info below; if you go to the fic, the art is embedded in it, but please don't forget to leave feedback for Lienwyn if you like the art!

DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH I LIKE 1930S SLANG.

Title: Ain't Nobody's Business If I Do
Rating: R
Artist: Lienwyn
Author: Copperbadge
Summary: The year is 1930, Prohibition and the Depression are both in full swing, and Chicago Police Detective Steve Rogers has his hands full. There's a dead body on the banks of Lake Michigan, the entire city's legal system is corrupt, and the king gangster of the North Side, Tony Stark, has taken more than a passing interest in him.
Warnings: Some mild era-specific *ism; internalized homophobia.

Story at Dreamwidth | Story at AO3
Art at Tumblr | Art at dA

copperbadge@gmail.com — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:59:50 GMT

SPOKE TOO SOON.

Prestigious East Coast NFP got back to me this morning to say they were taking a candidate with more experience. Fair do; if I were them I'd probably do the same. Also heard back from another Prestigious East Coast NFP who said they were interested but then mentioned their salary range, which was waaaaay below what I'm making now, let alone what I wish to be making.

I'm still five for twenty five, interviews to applications, which is not bad at all. The luxury of being able to choose whether to pursue a non-ideal job situation is something I am very much not taking for granted. I had a moment of panic when I got the letter about not getting the job, because in the past "didn't get the job" has almost always meant "how will I pay the rent?" and I had to remind myself that in this case it just means I don't have to choose between staying in Chicago and moving to a tiny town on the east coast. I know how fortunate I am in that regard.

COULD I POSSIBLY TALK MORE ABOUT MY JOB SITUATION, oh god, I'm boring myself at this point.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:58:06 GMT

So, I have had no news from Prestigious East Coast Not For Profit in three weeks. I'm pretty sure I didn't get the job. Which is okay -- mostly I'm feeling relief I don't have to make that decision. I'm guessing what they've done is offered the job to someone else and are waiting to tell the remaining candidates until they're sure that person will take the job. It's what we do where I currently work, so I can't blame them.

Mum can, though. She is blaming them UP AND DOWN. It's almost funny.

I am still packing, though, because I know I will move SOMEWHERE at SOME TIME this year, probably no later than September. So I've started packing nonessentials, like my books and some kitchen stuff.

THE DUST, YOU GUYS. THE DUST. They are not dust bunnies. They are dust MONSTERS. Dust birds of prey swooping down on dust voles and forming horrible mutant beasts. When I leave this flat I will leave behind a ravaging supervillain made of dust. I keep a clean house, but into every life a little dust must fall and mine is ALL FALLING AT ONCE.

It's probably a good thing I don't have allergies. They'd find me collapsed on the floor surrounded by boxes and sharpies.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:04:36 GMT

You guys, I did not know we had PIRATES on the great lakes!

This somehow changes everything.

I mean, Dan Seavey sounds like a terrible person, but just knowing he exists has made the Great Lakes region seem a little bit cooler. Why have we spent so many years discussing the wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald* when we could have been talking about how once Dan Seavey was charged with "unauthorized removal of a vessel on which he had once been a seaman"?

* I continually mix Edmund and Zelda up, but to be fair "The Wreck of the Zelda Fitzgerald" is not 100% inaccurate as a descriptor.

Even better: they were tree pirates.

Half-lumberjack, half-swashbuckler, these pirates would illegally clear-cut acres of wilderness that didn't belong to them. From federal lands to private acreage, these pirates would roam the forests and indiscriminately rob wood from anyone who happened to have it. They would then smuggle their booty via the region's many lakes and rivers to turn a profit. Some pirate gangs even went so far as to set up their own illegal sawmills.

I suppose being a Great Lakes pirate isn't as romantic as being a Caribbean one. It's hard to have quite the same kind of adventures when you're in danger of freezing your mizzenmast off half the year.

I have a WHOLE NEW RANGE of pirates from which to choose for this year's Talk Like A Pirate Day. EXCITING.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:11:13 GMT

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

Ways To Give:

Saskia linked to a friend, Glenn Crytzer, who is a guitarist and bandleader in Seattle specializing in arrangements of 1930s jazz and original work in that style. He's recently been badly injured in a car wreck, breaking his shoulder and wrist. As a self employed musician, the expenses of surgery and loss of work are extreme. His professional page is here, and you can donate to help or buy a CD here.

has two upcoming fundraisers in Chicago for their Relay for Life team:
Monday, May 20th, 8 PM. Hambingo> at Hamburger Mary's. $15 to play all night (3 cards per game, 8-10 games), fabulous prizes every round!
Thursday, May 23rd. Meatheads in Schaumburg. Bring in the flyer at the Facebook link any time during that day and the team gets ten percent of your meal.

linked to Fairness WV, a statewide civil rights advocacy organization dedicated to fair treatment and civil rights for the LGBT community. They recently did a fundraising drive and can always use support.

Fans Helping Fans:

is looking for short fanwork submissions for a Marvel 616 minizine. The zine will be published at cost and will have a free DIY print and staple it version online. Any Marvel 616 comic or character welcome!

and their housemates are looking for a fourth person to replace one of their current roommates, who is leaving at the end of June. They're located in the DC suburbs, and you can read more about the house and its occupants here.

News To Know:

responded to last week's post about Malaysian voter fraud with more information and context. The entire linkslist is here, but this one seems to be one of the more informative and here is one about the pending investigation.

linked to a story unfolding on LJ where community members of are being named in a libel suit over the content and comments of this post in which they discuss a local news story about the individual now suing them (apparently as part of an anti-cyberbullying campaign). There's no action to be taken here in RFM terms, but I agree with Taerowyn that it's an interesting and relevant story.

Just For Fun:

linked to a fun little garden-building website for those of us who can't have a real garden.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can always post items for my attention in comments here (or on any post) or email me at copperbadge at gmail dot com. If you're not sure how to proceed, here is a little more about what I do and how you can help (or ask for help!).

copperbadge@gmail.com — Sat, 11 May 2013 21:40:18 GMT

Me to Google Maps Error Reports:

There are at least two bus stops on southbound N. Michigan Avenue between Ohio and the river which are not marked or listed: Illinois and Wrigley Building. Transit directions in this area thus often involve an unnecessary walk across the river to catch buses in the loop.

Google Maps Error Reports in reply:

Thank you for reporting this problem. Unfortunately, for various reasons, the problem you reported isn't easy for us to fix at this time. We did want to let you know that we've escalated your report to the appropriate engineering team.

I STUMPED GOOGLE WITH BUSES.

I think I deserve some kind of shiny badge.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Sat, 11 May 2013 01:52:15 GMT

Man, I took today off and it has STILL been a day.

But I have fanfic reccs! Plenty of Bucky fanfic this time, from the recent Throwdown. But first, two that are more personally relevant:

Robot Trip Podfic by Blackglass: Teen and Up, Gen. Blackglass did a great podfic of my story Robot Trip!

Al Dente by determamfidd: Mature, Pepper/Tony, Bruce/Betty, others maybe upcoming. If you liked my Chef AU, there's another one inspired by the same tumblr post, written by someone who clearly actually knows what goes on in professional kitchens. It's funny and enjoyable, and I love some of the twists they've thrown into it.

One Steve Feels for the win:

You Close Your Eyes and the Glory Fades by Knottahooker: G, Gen (hints of Tony/Steve). A fantastic examination of how Steve has coped with his transformation, focused on the fact that he's listed as having been colourblind before the Serum.

And a buttload of Bucky. A Buckyload.

The World Looks Just the Same by 51st: PG, Gen. Bucky's recovery is rough, and Bucky himself is exhausted. This got a bit overlooked, I think, in the throwdown, but it's a very clean, simple, and at times somewhat devastating portrait of the road from there to here.

Gunpowder Age by Legete: PG-13, Gen. Bucky's potentially unhealthy but definitely charming relationship to firearms in general and one sweet M1941 Johnson in particular; the ending on this is just killer.

It Gets Lonesome Here by Historymiss: Teen and Up, Bucky/Natasha. A funny and occasionally heartbreaking series of letters by Bucky, from childhood through the present day. There are some really hard moments in this one.

This is Something by Knitmeapony: PG-13, Steve/Bucky/Natasha. A gritty, interesting examination of how Bucky settles in to living as Bucky again. Also, he, Steve, and Natasha play drinking games with movies. AND HAVE SEX. \o/

Grounding Ghosts by Charmingpplincardigans: PG-13, Gen. Bucky and Clint bond over shooting beer bottles and grieving the changes in Natasha. Tied pretty tightly to the comics, but as a comics reader I found it very enjoyable. It has my favourite line from the entire throwdown in it: “I am wise beyond my years,” Clint says. “You’re just alive beyond your years.”

Change Me Through and Through by Madmaudlingoes: PG, Gen. Bucky deals with the fact that he's going to war and Steve isn't, and maybe does a little skullduggery to keep his friend safe. It's written in second-person, which is hard to do well, but I think this story really nails it.

The Pinball Wizard in a Miracule Cure by Mad_Maudlin: Teen and Up, Gen. Steve and Tony inadvertently use pinball to bring Bucky out of his shell and test his new arm. Sweet, funny, bantery.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:16:00 GMT

I wrote a Chef AU.

I feel strangely ashamed.

Title: Feed The Body, Nourish The Soul
Rating: PG (language)
Summary: Steve Rogers just wanted to sell good, nourishing, cheap food from his food truck. Now the crazy fusion chefs from TOBRU are calling him a hipster, the avant garde restaurant "Shield" across the street has declared war on chains, and...well, then there's Thor, who thinks Steve's habit of licking food is weird.

Here on Dreamwidth | Here on AO3

copperbadge@gmail.com — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:42:58 GMT

I have come from the Museum of Hot Mess.

That was the best worst job interview I have ever been on. Oh my god, it was magnificently bad.

Before I even got to the room I was going to be interviewing in, I was informed that because the administrative offices are located under one of the public spaces, bugs sometimes fall through from the upstairs into their cubicles. This is the proper mindset in which to give an interview: waiting for a beetle to drop into your hair.

Other awesome factoids included:

"We all have really bad allergies because of the dust from the archives."
"You may want to invest in hand sanitizer."
"We've investigated the possibility that we are a terrorist bomb target."

Those were, btw, from three separate people.

In the end, while I already knew this job wasn't for me before I heard about the BUGS FROM ABOVE, I have more reasoning now why the job is not for me. Really they want three people: a hard data expert, a research expert, and a floater to help them both. But they can't afford three people, so they're hiring one person to do all of that, and that one person is not going to be me. Even if I desperately wanted the job (I don't because see: bugs, terrorism) I'm not the best candidate for it. I have very little experience in the hard-data end of this position.

Still, it was entertaining.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:37:37 GMT

A while back, recommended The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon to me. I had tried to read it like...ten years ago and failed, but back then I was a lot less into comic books and WWII history than I am now.

The book purports to document the story of Josef Kavalier and Sammy Klayman (alias Sam Clay), two young Jewish men in New York who manage to claw their way into comic books. Josef (Joe) is a refugee from Prague, the only member of his family to get out; as a youth he trained as a magician and escape artist, the Great Cavalieri. Sammy's a fast-talking New York boy whose father was a circus sideshow strongman and who wasn't doing much in his life until he partnered up with Joe to go into comics. The book is the chronicle of their life from 1941 or so onwards.

They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, between Sixth and Seventh avenues, and that was when Sam Clay experienced a moment of global vision, one which he would afterward come to view as the one undeiable brush against the diaphanous, dollar-colored hem of the Angel of new York to be vouchsafed to him in his lifetime.
--p. 94

I read an article a while ago about people who didn't finish books, and one quote in particular caught my eye, by a man who stopped reading a book when he "felt he was done". Which is, I have to admit, what I did with this book. It's not that I didn't enjoy it or didn't find it worth my time; I just found a happy stopping-place, and stopped there. I looked the rest up on Wikipedia, and I think I made a smart choice.

The desire he felt, watching Joe, was unquestionably physical, but in the sense that Sammy wanted to inhabit the body of his cousin, not possess it. It was, in part, a longing -- common enough among the inventors of heroes -- to be someone else...
--p. 113

The book is dense, and thoroughly packed with symbolism, especially in the names -- for example, Sammy's boyfriend and his first real introduction to the idea that he might be gay is named Tracy Bacon, bacon being something which is of course forbidden to Jews. This convention carries over into the comic books that Sammy writes and Joe illustrates, with heroes like Tom Mayflower (the Escapist) and Luna Dark, who becomes the superheroine Luna Moth. The comic books are a deeply enjoyable part of the story, I have to say, possibly the most enjoyable.

When they returned from the last of these arcane strolls, they had brought forth the Monitor, Mr. Machine Gun, and Dr. E. Pluribus Hewnham, the Scientific American...
--p. 171

The book does have some issues. It's very, very talky and often goes off on tangents that I just don't care about, so I found myself skipping a few pages every now and then (on the other hand, the whole story with the golem, while pointless, was brilliant). But mainly I stopped reading when I did because the book drips with foreboding. Not in a bad way, it's subtly done and it's appropriate to a book set just before America joins the war. But you can tell some really awful shit is going to happen. So I read as far as I thought I could before the awful shit began, and then I put it aside. For those interested, I stopped at the end of chapter 13.

Final Verdict: As a comics fan, it's well worth reading, and if you're not a comics fan it's still an interesting peek into how that world function in the forties, in what is called the Golden Age (for reasons that defy logic, given the general quality of writing and art). I stopped halfway through, but someone who gets a little less personally invested in stories might enjoy a whole lot more of it than I did.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:11:30 GMT

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

Ways To Give:

Shelli linked me to a fundraiser to help pay medical bills for a coworker's friend, David, who lost part of his leg in a terrible motorcycle accident.

is selling some of her mother's mid-century vintage, retro, and hippie jewelery to pay for health insurance and pending home taxes. The latter is due on May 15 and imperative to her keeping the house, so she needs the money fast. Her Etsy store has really fantastic jewelery for sale and more will be added as she sorts through it all: Windhaven Jewelry at Etsy

is traveling to a tech conference in Austin soon, courtesy of Dreamwidth, but currently has no income and will be struggling to feed herself while she's there. She has a DW post with more information here, and her fundraising indiegogo is here.

is raising funds to help them with expenses while attending a course on neuroanatomy in London. They're selling prints to raise the money and would love to have some buyers!

Kitty let me know about their braintwin Anna, who is studying Irish fiddle after a couple decades of classical violin. One of the best places to do that is the Swannanoa Gathering. She's doing an IndieGoGo to help defray costs as much as possible, and her blog entry explains in more detail.

linked to a fundraiser to help save EROS, a safe-sex center in San Francisco. Eros' mission is a community and cultural center that has among other things been focused on including trans men in gay male spaces. They need to upgrade to meet ADA requirements among other things, so the money is going straight back into making the building better for members and guests.

Help For Free:

linked me to the story of Kiera Wilmot, a straight-A high school student who is being expelled for, as people are saying and as appears to be the case, "doing science while black." She performed an experiment on school grounds which (as expected) caused a small explosion, and is now facing felony charges for it. There's a petition at change.org to have the charges dropped.

linked to an article about TSA full-body scanners and feedback; US citizens have until June 24th to comment on the use of full body scanners, which you can do here. Comments appear here.

linked to a petition for the US Government to assume medical health care costs for survivors of terrorist attacks on US soil.

linked to a change.org petition calling for "world invigilation" of the voter fraud taking place in the Malaysian elections. I have to admit I got this in this morning's email so I haven't investigated as thoroughly as usual and have no clue what "world invigilation" means. I also don't know what plurk is, but there's one here from someone presumably in Malaysia discussing what's going on. I have not investigated this as thoroughly as usual, so consider it unvetted, but I believe it's legit.

News To Know:

linked to a Computing Skills Boot Camp in Boston in June, designed to aid women in science, engineering, and medicine. They'll be teaching core skills needed to write, test and manage research software. Registration is $20 and is open to women at all stages of their research careers, from graduate students, post-docs, and faculty to staff scientists at hospitals and in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

Kitty is publishing an email-list exclusive story called Gods and Monsters. "She's a Manic Pixie Dream Girl! He's a Humorless Snark Knight! They fight Evil Overlords! (who haven't read the handbook.)" You can read more about the story and how to sign up for the mailing list here.

Anon let me know that a play called "By the Way, Meet Vera Stark" is playing at the Goodman here in Chicago. You can check out tickets here and there's a post with more information here.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can always post items for my attention in comments here (or on any post) or email me at copperbadge at gmail dot com. If you're not sure how to proceed, here is a little more about what I do and how you can help (or ask for help!).

copperbadge@gmail.com — Mon, 06 May 2013 01:41:46 GMT

So, I have ALL THESE BAY LEAVES.

I know I'm going to be moving this year, either out of town or further south to follow my job, so I'm trying to use up dry goods like spices and various mixes and the random bottle of karo syrup I happen to have. And I have way more bay leaves than I will EVER USE.

And I thought, well, they're a deodorizer, and they supposedly keep some bugs away. I'll grind some up in my mini-cuisinart, toss them in loose-leaf tea bags as sachets, and drop them in various locations in my home.

Have you ever ground up bay leaves in a mini cuisinart blender?

Because grinding them ten at a time, just adding ten more when the last batch was chopped enough, went fine. I added some really crusty old salt, to weigh down the leaves and make them more grindable. And then I started spooning them into the tea bags, at which point the smell hit me.

I say hit me, but really it was more like it attacked me and chewed on my head.

First my sinuses started going "oh hey look we're cleaning out!" which was fine, I sometimes need that. But then my eyes started watering. And I'm pretty sure at the end there my earwax started to melt.

I'm leaking from every orifice in my head. I swear I can hear better now.

Salt and bay leaf are supposedly cleansing and protective, in some magical belief systems. If this is the case I am the most fucking cleansed and protected individual in all of Chicago tonight. I've put the little sachets in a plastic bag because otherwise I'm worried the level of protection on this place would start attracting evil.

And also because I don't want the fumes to reach my brain.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Sun, 05 May 2013 20:48:59 GMT

I had someone contact me this morning about the concept of the Dead Year, which got me to thinking I really should talk about it again.

I don't know how many of you remember the Dead Year -- a lot of you have been reading this blog a looooong time, so probably a few at least -- but it was something I came up with to kind of offset the terrible place I found myself in after grad school.

After I graduated, I basically had no money, so I came home to live with my folks, which was really my only option but which was also kind of a bad situation in sheer geographic terms. I was living with my parents in the suburbs of a city I disliked, in a hot climate I hated; I had no job and no realistic prospects of getting one. Even if I wanted a job outside my field, I had no way to get to it, because I hated cars and driving and there was no good public transit in the area. I was applying for jobs and getting absolute silence in reply, and realising that while I had the education for my field, I didn't have the experience people were going to want.

I was stressed and I saw no way out and I thought, is this going to be the rest of my life?

So I declared a Dead Year. I decided, just for one year, that what I did wasn't going to matter. It wasn't going to affect my entire future existence if I didn't get a job that year or produce anything of worth creatively or have a girlfriend or whatever people in their mid-twenties were supposed to be doing. A year out of existence.

Even when I was in it I thought, wow, this is some pretty dramatic bullshit, and sometimes looking back I still feel that way, but it gave me time without the weight of my future on my shoulders to assess my life and rethink my battle plan. Everything started to seem possible because nothing mattered. And it got me to where I am today in a fairly direct way, because I came to realise that as long as I stayed in a place that made progress impossible, I wouldn't make any progress.

So I came out of the Dead Year and I moved to a city which made it possible for me to travel around and get work. I got a job inside of a month, and then a better job, and then one that wasn't in my chosen profession but was really good and got me to where I am now, with a job that both provides the stability theatre wouldn't have and allows me to draw on my theatrical training as I work.

I had some luck on my side, admittedly; my parents were willing to help me financially with the move, and I was able to get a job in a really rather bad market for it. But the plan I made to get to that point came out of the Dead Year, as, I believe, did the initial draft of Nameless, my first novel.

So looking back, eight or nine years on, I am desperately glad I did it. When people are in pain it's difficult for them to think straight, and the Dead Year took a lot of emotional pain out of the equation for me.

My mum has started calling 2013 my Year of Change, which is not untrue. I knew I would be forced into at least one major life change (with work moving to an annoyingly inaccessible location) and I thought I might as well throw everything at the wall at once. I'm in the process of getting some health concerns squared away, I'm slowly cleaning out my flat, I'm looking around at new jobs or possibly a new apartment, and while it is exhausting it's also been both enjoyable and educational.

That said, oh boy am I glad April is over. Another month like that and Change can get itself bent.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Sat, 04 May 2013 20:35:04 GMT

FANFIC!

This was written for the Marvel Throwdown on tumblr, the "Bucky Barnes" edition.

Title: Five Times Bucky Got Permission
Rating: PG-13 (Bucky/Natasha, Bucky/Steve)
Warnings: None.
Summary: People keep trying to tell Bucky something, and he's getting very confused.

At Dreamwidth | At AO3

copperbadge@gmail.com — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:37:15 GMT

Randomly today I downloaded a BBC news program because it had an interesting title, and I put it on to play while I was making dinner. About five minutes into the program, I heard the name of a company that I was sure I knew, and then the name of a man which I was positive I recognised.

The news program is about how this guy is tied up in some nasty business -- he's on the side of the angels, at least I think so, but he and his company are being threatened because of it and one man's already been murdered. So I'm standing there, eating my dinner in the kitchen as I watch this narrative unfold, and my first thought is, oh man, when this is over I have to look him up in our database. That must be how I know him and I need to make sure we're tracking this story.

Sure enough, I'd done a profile on him a few months before the scandal broke.

The good news is that we definitely are tracking the story, so I ended up just making a note to pass the info on to the person who's been entering news reports on the whole affair. But it's totally surreal to randomly recognise the name of someone who's not especially famous and then go "Wait, where do I know that from? Oh my God, is that our Mr. X?"

You get really proprietary about the people you research, sometimes; it's not that you don't want anyone else researching them, but you feel a sense of accomplishment and pride when you see them getting involved in the organisation or giving to it.

Here's the weird part. About a year ago I did a profile on a man -- call him Mr. Y -- who I became convinced was involved in some nasty business from the other end. A person's potential criminal proclivities are not something you put in a profile unless they've been convicted (reasons of privacy and protecting the organisation make this necessary) but I conveyed my concerns to the appropriate people verbally to make sure they knew, and let the matter rest.

I'm relatively sure Mr. Y is gunning for Mr. X, if not in an active way then in at least a passive, political way. It's fascinating to see it come together. I'm totally going to be watching it unfold from the safety of another country and behind the protective wall of a computer screen.

INTRIGUE.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Wed, 01 May 2013 22:12:33 GMT

THE HORROR has come to Chicago.

It's summer.

It showed up really suddenly. Yesterday I mentioned to someone that APRIL WAS OVER, and just to prove April could still screw me, I walked outside in my wool trousers and leather jacket (because it was like, forty yesterday morning when I left home) and it was about seventy degrees.

I am not comfortable at anything over sixty or so. Indoors. Outside I want it to be below fifty at all times. Because fuck you I'm of Irish-Nordic extraction, that's why.

Anyway, I didn't want to walk to the train so I caught the 151 bus, and I know better, because the 151 is capricious and evil. A few blocks shy of Belmont, not even at a bus stop, my bus just stopped and the driver declared the bus was done. Fortunately there was another 151 behind him, so we all piled out of one and got on the other, and when I got home I stripped down and installed my air conditioner.

That air conditioner, I swear to god, the best $150 I have ever spent. I know it does terrible things to the environment but at least it's EnergyStar compliant, so not...as horrible? And let's face it, if I didn't have it, I would do horrible things. Someone would die by week's end, someone who probably didn't deserve it.

And I didn't even write this up yesterday because I was so cranky, and also because work is being hellacious. I keep getting assigned work that usually we get three days on, but because things are so busy I'm on same-day turnaround and of course because of THAT I'm screwing it all up.

And now it's summer. GOD DAMN IT.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:57:16 GMT

In all the madness lately I did manage to READ BOOKS.

Well, okay, BOOK, but it was a long one!

"...does the Alexandria Quartet qualify as eastern literature?"
"There is a very simple test," said Vikram. "Is it about bored, tired people having sex?"
"Yes," said the convert, surprised.
"Then it's western."
--p. 159

Alif the Unseen is definitely not about bored, tired people having sex. I was trying to figure out how I would "elevator pitch" such a large, dense novel, and I decided the best description is that it's about the place where technology and mythology intersect, particularly non-western mythology.

There were millions of people in rooms like his, reaching toward each other in the same ways he did. Now that feeling of intimacy seemed fraudulent. He lived in an invented space, easily violated. He lived in his own mind. --p.51

I really enjoyed Alif The Unseen on a number of levels, not least of which was the sheer amount of stuff in the book which managed to coexist with all the other stuff and not get boring. The basic story is that Alif, a "grey hat" compsci whiz in a never-named Islamic country where tensions are rising due to the recent Arab Spring, receives a gift from an ex-lover: the Alf Yeom, a series of stories supposedly dictated to a wizard by a captive djinn. The Hand, a shadowy figure from the restrictive conservative government, wants the Alf Yeom for reasons which aren't at first clear. With the help of some djinns, a religious leader, a convert, and his best friend since childhood, Alif goes on the run as he attempts to figure out why the Alf Yeom is so valuable and how he can, well, get his life back.

Alif felt his shoulders relax. All problems are simply interruptions in the transmission and preservation of data, he reminded himself. --p. 144

There's a lot of meat in the book about religious culture in general and Islamic culture in particular, as well as censorship and human rights, slacktivism, and the rights that people now have to lose before they begin to agitate. Plus there's some great discussion of magic and faith.

"My dear sir," said the sheikh. "God likes catching His servants unprepared. The boy has set down what is obviously the first plate of food he has seen in a long while in order to thank his Creator. There are few acts of piety more honest than that." --p. 294

"Belief is dying out. To most of your people the jinn are paranoid fantasies who run around causing epilepsy and mental illness. Find me someone to whom the hidden folk are simply real, as described in the Books. You'll be searching a long time. Wonder and awe have gone out of your religions. You are prepared to accept the irrational, but not the transcendent." --p. 303

It's strange, but I find it harder to talk about books I like than books I don't like, and in this case it's a really big book jammed really full of awesome stuff. The quotes I'm sharing with you here are culled from all the quotes I bookmarked, which used every little brass bookdart I had.

Final Verdict: I generally don't enjoy super-long novels, especially ones which throw this much at their hero, but I loved this book. I can't recommend it highly enough; it's definitely one of the best fiction books I've read in the last few years.

"I was afraid you'd turn into one of those literary types who say 'books can change the world' when they're feeling good about themselves and 'it's only a book' when anybody challenges them. It wasn't about the books themselves -- it was about hypocrisy. You can speak casually about burning the Alf Yeom for the same reason you'd be horrified if I suggested burning The Satanic Verses -- because you have reactions, not convictions." --p. 354

copperbadge@gmail.com — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 03:26:01 GMT

I am home!

Forty hours.

GOOD LORD.

*collapses in bed*

copperbadge@gmail.com — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:12:21 GMT

Interview: Accomplished! I am not really all that much further along the road to a decision but at least, thank god, they didn't offer it on the spot. Though their relocation package, I must say, is comprehensive.

At any rate, it's done and I am in the airport in Philadelphia, at the only table in the entire food court with a power outlet, MWAHAHAHA.

I am going to sleep a lot on the plane, at least I hope. I have work tomorrow. My schedule is ALL KINDS of screwed up.

But I do have ice cream.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:27:54 GMT

Good morning all, and welcome to a hasty but totally assembled Radio Free Monday! I only had three items this week that I am aware of, but apologies if I forgot anyone -- please email me again, this weekend was a little nuts. :)

has had some illnesses lately that have prevented her from working, and thus getting paid. She would like to sell some of her jewelry in the next week to help make ends meet. You can check out her offerings at her Live Journal jewelry pages and she has an Etsy shop where some pieces are exclusive to Etsy. If you're looking for yourself, a special occasion, or a gift, stop by to see if anything tickles your fancy.

has a post up about the firing of Carla Hale, a gym teacher who lost her job at a Catholic high school for acknowledging her female partner in her mother's obituary. You can read more about the protest petition and other coverage efforts at the post.

TarasGreen on Devart has a younger sister who is raising money to fund a three-week dance intensive at Gelsey Kirkland this summer. Her Indiegogo campaign is here and her family is offering various rewards for donation; TarasGreen is offering prints and portraits, and you can view examples here.

is trying to raise interest in a DIY Fanzine; she's looking for peopleinterested in making short zines containing mostly meta and fanart, trying something a little more experimental than traditional bound fic fanzines. You can read more and get involved at .

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Oh god you guys think of me fondly today.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 19:27:31 GMT

EAST COAST

I AM ON U

I ravaged a hamburger (I was hungry, okay) and met two very nice French women -- don't ask -- and now I am resting in my hotel room before I either go out on the town or totally collapse in a heap of nerves.

I feel like I owe it to this massive, horrifying decision to actually explore a bit and get a sense of ambience, but I am also really tired and there are movies on the giant television and I have google streetview.

Updates as the situation warrants.

copperbadge@gmail.com — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:27:53 GMT

Me: *hands over boarding pass*
Boarding Pass Machine: *TERRIBLE BLEAT OF DOOM*
Me: What happened?
Flight Attendant: We're printing you a new boarding pass.
Me: Wait, why?
Chorus of Angels: *descends*
Flight Attendant: You're being upgraded to an exit row. Are you willing and able to perform the duties of an exit-row passenger in the event of an emergency?
My inner voice: You bet your beautiful face I am.
My adult self: Yes, I am, thank you!
Chorus of Angels: *gentle song as I walk down the boarding ramp*