Icarus' Journal

11:41am: SGA Rec: Black Helicopters at Dawn by Whizzy
Have I been distracted for a night? I did write another scene of Out Of Bounds.

Taking a break from writing, I've kicked back and enjoyed one of the best pre-Atlantis AUs I've encountered in the Stargate Atlantis fandom. And this fandom does wonderful AUs.

Black Helicopters at Dawn whizzy, R, John/Rodney, mostly pre-slash

I picked this story up from amothea's rec. I've never read anything by whizzy before, but she is obviously a very experienced writer. Her AU is built carefully, with a plausibly weird and paranoid Rodney McKay who'd refused to sign the confidentiality agreement to join Stargate, and little hints about a John Sheppard who joined the Stargate program before Antarctica. Then whizzy a remarkably tense action story that takes place almost entirely over the radio. Which alone takes talent.

But Whizz doesn't leave it there. The action sequence is just the wind up for the second half, where the story delivers what first appears to be a domestic drama leading to the inevitable cliche romance. But that's because you and I have forgotten about the SGC.

More, whizzy, more!

1:07pm: Note to self: stop whining.
To the kind person who just gave me two months paid Dreamwidth account:

Thank you.

You're aware I should not be rewarded for whining, right?

3:35am: Bwuh?
I changed nothing, but I can crosspost to DW now?

Bwuh?

10:38pm: Trying to crosspost to Dreamwidth. For right now, I'm at LJ until this is solved.
Damn it.

Folks, I'm not able to crosspost to Dreamwidth. I've been trying. It's not working. I'm not on Dreamwidth yet.

This is where I'm posting.

Here. Livejournal.

Not Dreamwidth.

Why?

Because Dreamwidth crossposting is not working for me. [Insert much cussing.]

Dreamwidth won't let me crosspost to Journalfen. When I crosspost from Seamagic to Dreamwidth, I get timeout errors.

I just lost a long happy post that I attempted to crosspost via Seamagic to Dreamwidth. It timed out. Since I was logging in at Dreamwidth via Seamagic, I lost the whole thing. It didn't post anywhere. Arrgh! [Insert keyboard mash of fury.]

Those of you who think you can read me at Dreamwidth -- you can't.

10:19pm: Looking for me? Because I'm looking for you.
I hope to find you all at Dreamwidth.

I'm here: icarus.

Yes. I get to be just Icarus, at long last.

Where are you? Same names? Similar ones?

Great news brewing, but I think I'll let it steep for a bit. Like good tea.

1:13am: UW Budget cuts? Try devastation. These couldn't be worse if they used napalm.
Tonight has been a terrible night for no reason I can discern.

WG was happy and perky when I came home. The kitty was purring. I curled up with my homework on clean sheets.

But I had a lot of reading to do. WG turned petulant and needy, cuddling close and miserable, interrupting again and again in subtle ways -- until I snapped at him. My mood turned foul and frustrated ... and then guilty.

Monte kitty also resented my homework. He chewed my book, sat on it, did "walk-bys," and then threw up a hairball on the bed.

I stripped the sheets, found a snuggle position for the (now unhappy) WG and Monte kitty. Then finished my reading. I just picked up the email from the University president.

UW Budget cuts? Try devastation. These couldn't be worse if they used napalm.

For the University of Washington, the resulting budget decisions are dramatic. The bad news is that the Legislature decided to reduce statefunding to the six public four-year college and universities more than any other sector in state government. The University of Washington received the highest percentage cut in all of higher education - 26 percent. This is a stark and sobering number. Beginning July 1, one quarter of our funding from the state will no longer exist. It is unprecedented in state history, and as far as we know, it is by far the largest reduction in state support to a flagship university by any state in the nation. It takes our state funding level back to where it was more than a decade ago and drops the portion of the state budget dedicated to four-year higher education to an all-time low.

The somewhat better news, though it may not appear so to our students and their families, is that the budget authorizes our Regents to increase resident undergraduate tuition up to 14 percent for the 2009-11 biennium ... If approved by the Regents, tuition for resident undergraduates wouldincrease $875 next academic year and $1,000 the following year.

Sigh. I thought the stimulous bill had money for universities in it. I thought that was the priority.

I feel lost. Like school right now is a hopeless black hole. Sanskrit is a lost cause. I'll never be get funding to take the final year now.

I may be a tad depressed.

Of course, I've also been reading Toni Morrison tonight. She has a talent for leaving me in the dumps.

3:39pm: SGA Fic: Out Of Bounds - John/Rodney - NC-17
Another longish update while I struggle with the final freeskate scene. Why is this so haaaaaarrrrrd?

The story in one file up to an earlier chapter: Out Of Bounds.

Title: Out Of Bounds
Author: Icarus
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: John/Rodney
Summary: One thing about having a yoga instructor who was six foot four with a lion's mane of dreadlocks: he certainly stood out in the milling crowd around the snack stands.

A/N: Thank you once again to my tireless betas (we're having fun), rabidfan and roaringmice, and now tingler.

Previously in Out Of Bounds: Known more for his jumps than his artistry, figure skater John Sheppard hires ex-skating champion and "artiste" Rodney McKay to be his coach. Their teasing friendship warms into something more. After a year of training and preparation... the U.S. Championships.

( One thing about having a yoga instructor who was six foot four with a lion's mane of dreadlocks: he certainly stood out in the milling crowd around the snack stands. )

9:41am: Step 1: decide to innovate. Step 2: innovative idea is?? Step 3: Profit!
The economic meltdown becomes more real when it effects your job.

What I secretly and shamefully enjoyed -- shaking a fist at Bush and glad, glad, glad his legacy's in the garbage disposal -- has now hit home. My university's budget is going to be cut by 30% due to falling state revenues. My entire tutoring department has been eliminated.

I've been able to not-think about it, but I just composed a desperate-sounding email to the other tutoring departments to try to find work for the summer and next year.

Funny how you can't quite keep that quaver out of your voice, even on paper.

( The trouble is, the housing boom only disguised the results of job slipping overseas. )

US capitalism has us trapped in an eroding economic position.

Clinton, Bush, Obama ... all repeated that we need "innovation."

I read this as no one knows what to do.

What can we do?

Options:

1 - Switch to socialism. Stop laughing, it's on the table.
2 - Move overseas to where the jobs have gone.
3 - Re-train into US jobs that are hard to ship overseas; medical, teaching.
4 - Arm the unions.
5 - Revolution.
6 - Start innovative new industry. Stop laughing, it's on the table.
7 - Convince whole country to go Amish.
8 - Other-?

7:05am: Interview for a radio show.
ATTN: London slash writers in a movie fandom (which technically includes Harry Potter):

alex_beecroft says:

"I've just had an email from Laura Baumbach asking if I know of any movie-fandom slash writers who live in London. She has been contacted by a radio station in London, which wants to interview one."

http://alex-beecroft.livejournal.com/76329.html

femmequixotic? You're at the hub of the Harry Potter fandom. Know any Londoners?

9:02pm: Art for Out Of Bounds
Today I explained fan art to my father. He's an art director in Canada, fairly well-known, who's won the advertising awards year after year.

Whee! I have fan art!

What is fan art, do you ask?

Fan art is when someone reads your story and loves it enough to crack open the pencil box and start drawing. Fan art is a feather in your cap. Fan art is a sign that you've reached your audience. Fan art is a chance to see if the reader sees what you see. Fan art is a look into the minds of your readers.

Fan art is the greatest.

And then I sent him a stack of fan art, including the two new pieces from miso_no_tsuki:


Miso No Tsuki is back, this time drawing John's tense short program in the figure skating AU, Out Of Bounds. Miso reveals the sheer athletism and pressure of the sport, along with its goofball glitter and sequins.


Miso No Tsuki was kind enough to draw John in the figure skating AU, Out Of Bounds. As a bonus she gives us that same program, but this time in practice, with the glitz stripped away.

Yah gotta have aaaaaaart!

10:49am: Recs, recs, recs and more recs.
In better news: WG's foot is doing better. Not "all healed" by any means. But he's moving around much more freely.

Also: various transition scenes of Out Of Bounds are moving forward. In an odd way. First one scene inches forward. Grinds to a halt. Then another starts moving. I scratch my head, but there is no arguing with it. Progress is progress. When not progressing, I re-read crysothemis's Fix. *fans self*

Nothing makes me happier than when someone on sgastoryfinders searches for a fic of mine. It's even better when its recognized in seconds. The fact that auburnnothenna is writing a (massively long) SGA AU right now comes a close second, however.

Grave Mistake by kick_flaw, Merlin/Arthue, NC-17, H for hilarious (I made that rating up)

Yes, that kick_flaw, of the infamously hot Harry/Draco "Ice Cream Quickie." You've laughed yourself silly over Grave Mistake already, I'm sure. But if you've missed this one, stop by to enjoy the funniest ghost overshare in the Merlin fandom. Is there a way to gag a ghost? No. If there were, I'm quite certain Merlin would have found it. A fantastic, imaginative premise.

Sheppard's Law by cesperanza, John/Rodney, can't remember if it's R or NC-17, B for brilliant

I realize I've been remiss, but only because I know you've all pounced on it already. Speaking of imagination... just when I thought I'd read every possible sci-fi scenario, cesperanza comes up with a variation on time travel (but not time travel) that I'd never encountered. We all know that John is accident prone, but here are heart-in-your-throat dire. It left my brain buzzing with the implications, wondering about the nature of time. A sci-fi gem

Fix by toft_froggy, John/Rodney, NC-17, T for torturous

vanitashaze and I were discussing toft_froggy's unsparing eye the other day, and lo, sgastoryfinders reacquainted me with Fix. John is in the most humiliating position possible for a man, and only Rodney can save him. Seriously dub!con. Does a miserable, frustrated, unwilling Sheppard turn you on? Yeah. Me, too.

As soon I can find the link, I will give you vanitashaze's story, and toft_froggy's disturbing but so dead-on Merlin/Uther fic. Toft doesn't make her stories easy to find... grumble, grumble.

12:54am: Hi, Merlin fans, yes, I'm still here.
I'm still here, in the Merlin fandom. I'm being very disciplined about finishing my SGA WiPs first.

Quite disciplined. I deserve a prize.

However, none is forthcoming. Instead I shall remind you all I'm still a Merlin fan with a rec or two:

Needlework by zarathuse, Merlin/Arthur, NC-17

Needlework will make you shiver, in that beaming way that comes with a good story told over a campfire, snuggled in your sleeping bag. Let's face it, most Merlin fics use "magical misadventure" as a mere ploy to get Merlin and Arthur into the sack. (Not that I don't enjoy that, too.) Here, I believe the medieval magic. I was utterly involved in the plot, almost confident that all would be well, eventually. Almost. Merlin was so clearly over his head.... At the end, zarathuse gives us far more than just the start of a relationship. But I won't spoil that for you. Toasted marshmallow, anyone?

But hey, I'm also devouring SGA fic, rumors of SGA's demise being greatly exaggerated, etc., etc.. After some hibernation, the SGA authors are putting out nice, long rich fics:

Should've Been My Girlfriend by crysothemis, John/Rodney, NC-17

... Like this meta-rich story. I can see John just this foolish, just this absorbed in one thought -- we've known for some time he can be obsessive -- and nothing goes as planned. In fact, Crys bounces off the gender tropes like billiard ball from unexpected turn to another. And need I mention that it's hot? It's written by crysothemis after all, and she wrote Fix, which is my candidate for the hottest fic in the fandom. The best part of "Girlfriend" (other than John's utter foolishness -- I mean, the fool!) is that Crys does what she does best: inner monologues in a note-perfect character voice, and the contrast with the total lack of communication between John and Rodney. Oh, John. Never change.

9:09pm: Oh, hello economy. Have we reached bottom yet?
Oh. Joy. WG received a letter that his insurance claim has been refused. The insurance company insists that he has to file with L&I.

WG's been pacing and worried all day. There has been no other topic of conversation today.

He spoke with the union trust people immediately. They were surprised at his company's insistance that you have to report injuries for L&I within a 72-hour window. The woman there said, "I had some pain in my hand that I ignored at first but it kept getting worse. I was able to report it to L&I."

Now WG has to file an L&I claim after the fact. He's going in to the shipyard to talk to human resources tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the head of my work, the tutor program, has called a meeting for 10:30 tomorrow. This will be our first ever meeting.

I have a feeling I know what it's about. I was reviewing the applications for next year's tutors this week. Today I was told to put that on hold. We won't be hiring new tutors for next year.

10:03pm: Amazon.com: "It's a glitch!" Oh. Really? Interesting glitch.
The best article on Amazon removing sales rankings from GLBT books:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/04/amazon-responds-to-adult-queries-blames-a-glitch.html

From the LA Times' Carolyn Kellogg, who is smarter than the average PR person:

I asked Patty Smith [of Amazon.com] this:</p>

The reply:

Heh.

9:28pm: SGA Fic: Out Of Bounds - John/Rodney - NC-17 overall
Now a serious update, nine pages in my version of Word -- the actual Nationals competition begins.

The story in one file up to an earlier chapter: Out Of Bounds.

Title: Out Of Bounds
Author: Icarus
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: John/Rodney
Summary: Then, in an electric moment, John's flight stood as if pulled by a string, though it wasn't clear who'd told who it was time. The short program begins.

A/N: Thank you once again to my tireless betas (we're having fun), rabidfan and roaringmice, and now tingler and mariamme, too.

Previously in Out Of Bounds: Known more for his jumps than his artistry, figure skater John Sheppard hires ex-skating champion and "artiste" Rodney McKay to be his coach. Their teasing friendship warms into something more. After a year of training and preparation... the U.S. Championships.

( Then, in an electric moment, John's flight stood as if pulled by a string, though it wasn't clear who'd told who it was time. )

Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild (warm-up music)
Michael Kamen - Overture to Robin Hood (Nathaniel Peters' music)
Rachmaninov - Prelude in G Minor (Frances Caliaro's music)
Itzak Perlman - I Will Wait For You (Mike Estey's music)
Michael Kamen - Meet Martin Riggs (Mark Svick's music)
Danny Elfman - Men In Black (Kyle Fletcher's music)
The Lively Ones - cover of Surf Rider (John Sheppard's music)

4:41pm: Amazon Rank: and the results I want.
Amazon Rank

Explanation here.

I want Amazon.com, this Monday morning, to have a meeting. In that meeting I want them to address this utter mess. By the end of this meeting, I want them to restore the ranks to every GLBT book on all their sites--yes, all of them.

By 10am, I want a press release where Amazon says, "We're aware of the problem and we're fixing it. This is a mistake. Amazon.com does not believe in censorship in any form." Then they can henceforth tell conservative complainers to go hang.

11:26am: Amazon.com discriminating against gay and lesbian books.
"Heather Has Two Mommies" is an adult book. At least according to Amazon.com it is.

Who knew?

You're probably hearing about this from everyone, but let me add my voice to the chorus. Amazon.com is stripping the sales rankings from gay and lesbian books. As the post says:

If you write books with homosexual characters, read books with homosexual characters, please look at this:



Mark,Erastes, and Alex (among others) had their Amazon sales rankings removed over the last few days for The Filly, Transgressions and False Colours respectively. On enquiring about this, Mark was told the following:

In consideration of our entire customer base, we exclude "adult" material from appearing in some searches and best seller lists. Since these lists are generated using sales ranks, adult materials must also be excluded from that feature.

Hence, if you have further questions, kindly write back to us.

Best regards,

Ashlyn D
Member Services
Amazon.com Advantage

Please note that just before this, Erastes' Transgressions and Alex's False Colours were topping out the rankings. Also note that "The Filly" is a YA Book, and therefore I would suggest one of the more important books to have out there for kids questioning their identity, and Transgressions and False Colours are being shelved with the Romance section of Barnes and Noble. Though as Mark points out, that is of no fucking importance because this is homophobic bias pure and simple.

I have no idea what to do about this except spread the message. If anyone has any ideas on what to do, tell me. Because I am not letting this lie. As vashtan said, they are happy to take the money, but not happy to give these books the recognition they rightly deserve.

Chris.

PS. Not linking to these books on Amazon, for obvious reasons. If people would give me other sites on which to buy them, will amend the post.

ETA: Letter to Amazon here: http://c-smith-author.livejournal.com/20968.html

vashton has begun compiling an eye-opening list.

You can email Amazon.com here (you'll need to log in).

5:53pm: Vortex Trip.
Hello members of vortex_trip who have been friends with me for some time: starrylizard, theemdash, izzybeth, wyomingnot, pxr5, darththalia, celtic_tigress, and abigail89.

Help.

Would you please vouch for me?

VT says that my journal "is not a personal journal" because I say in my profile that I pimp stories.

Wha-? This is the only journal I have.

If this is not a personal journal, then what is all this?

They also say that I have "no Dr. Who interests." But like everyone else, I erased all my interests (except for the Buddhist ones) after Strikethrough in 2007.

Granted, I'm pretty new to Dr. Who and I'm not writing fic for it at this point ... but--? *blinks*

5:23pm: Dr. Who special.
Dr. Who...

... when is it? When? When?

*bounces*

3:21pm: FIC: Out Of Bounds - John/Rodney - NC-17 overall
The story in one file up to an earlier chapter: Out Of Bounds.

Title: Out Of Bounds
Author: Icarus
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: John/Rodney
Summary: "That's your ignorance speaking. You're not aware that they're a ravening mob that will gleefully tear you limb from limb."

A/N: Thank you once again to my tireless betas (we're having fun), rabidfan and roaringmice, and now tingler and mariamme, too.

Previously in Out Of Bounds: Known more for his jumps than his artistry, figure skater John Sheppard hires ex-skating champion and "artiste" Rodney McKay to be his coach. Their teasing friendship warms into something more. After a year of training and preparation... the U.S. Championships.

( 'That's your ignorance speaking. You're not aware that they're a ravening mob that will gleefully tear you limb from limb.' )

3:00pm: Class on teaching writing.
For those interested: Delpit wrote a critique in 1988 flatly stating that a "culture of power" plays out in classrooms, i.e., that while white middle class kids have privilege and access to the language of power, POCs (largely black, urban, poor) do not. From her perspective, teaching strategies that assume everyone has equal access do kids a disservice.

Seems relevant to many of the questions people have been wrestling with on LJ lately. If anyone's interested, help yourself -- Delpit, 1988.

5:27pm: The short program. Done.
I now metaphorically collapse on the floor, face up, panting. One hand drops to the side.

Just finished the first draft of the entire short program in Out Of Bounds.

Also, on behalf of troyswann I added a reference to Marlowe and Shakespeare. Because she was bored, and this is fandom after all. We're allowed to be weird.

3:46pm: I solemnly swear....
I promise not to run Out Of Bounds through a shredder and set it on fire.

1:41am: SPN 4x17 and 4x18
Oh, hee!

( Yes. The ostrich technigue of hiding fandom failed yet again. There were our little tail feathers sticking up, and SPN tweaked one. )

Hats off to TPTB for their respectful treatment of Chuck, and yes, respectful treatment of fandom.

4:05pm: FIC: Out Of Bounds - John/Rodney - NC-17 overall
The story in one file up to an earlier chapter: Out Of Bounds.

Title: Out Of Bounds
Author: Icarus
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: John/Rodney
Summary: "This scoring system is starting to seem a little arbitrary," John growled in complaint.

A/N: Thank you once again to my tireless betas, rabidfan and roaringmice, as well as tingler and mariamme.

Previously in Out Of Bounds: Known more for his jumps than his artistry, figure skater John Sheppard hires ex-skating champion and "artiste" Rodney McKay to be his coach. Their teasing friendship warms into something more. After a year of training and preparation... the U.S. Championships.

( 'This scoring system is starting to seem a little arbitrary,' John growled in complaint. )